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Allisha Gray Answers Dream's Challenge With 23 Points to Force Game 7
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- Allisha Gray Answers Dream's Challenge With 23 Points to Force Game 7
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Allisha Gray made 5 of her 7 3-point attempts Thursday and scored 23 points as the Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 in Game 6 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena.
She shot 8-of-12 from the field and added 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals in 32 minutes. Atlanta was plus-13 with her on the floor.
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The series is tied 3-3. Game 7 is Saturday at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Gray Breaks Out After Two Quiet Games
Gray's 3-pointer at the 9:04 mark of the first quarter put Atlanta ahead 3-2. It was the only lead change of the game.
She had 8 points in the first quarter on 3-of-3 shooting. In the fourth, she made 3 of her 4 3-point attempts, and the last one, assisted by Angel Reese with 56 seconds left, made it 80-69.
In Monday's Game 5 at Chase Center, Gray scored 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting in a 64-55 loss. She had 5 points on 1-of-7 in Game 4, when foul trouble held her to 21:52 .
Entering Thursday, she was averaging 13.9 points on 34.4% shooting through eight playoff games, according to ESPN. She led Atlanta at 19.0 points per game in the regular season.
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Thursday started on the defensive end for Gray, and she went after rebounds.
"Just like we talked about yesterday, just give myself grace, just letting the game come to me," Gray said. "[Whatever] I'm dealing with, [it's] the playoffs, but the biggest thing for me is just doing other things to help my team out. Shots were falling today, so I'll take that. But I feel like it started on the defensive end. I was able to play defense, go for rebounds."
"The coaches and my teammates did challenge me, and I think, well, I do believe I stepped up to the challenge," Gray continued. "And I know going to Game 7, not to take the foot off the gas, and just I feel I can take it up even another level."
Gray Playing Through a Hand Injury
Gray hurt her left hand in the first quarter of Game 1 of the semifinals against the New York Liberty on Oct. 4. The injury is to her left ring finger, and she shoots left-handed.
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She missed the last two games of Atlanta's sweep of the Liberty, had a minor procedure on the hand, and returned to the starting lineup for Game 1 of the Finals on Oct. 17.
On Oct. 23, The Associated Press reported that Gray's left hand was not 100%.
Gray's teammates were on her before Game 6 to play her own game.
"It felt nice. My plan [was] to come out aggressive from the jump," Gray explained. "My teammates were really on me to just play my game and having my back. So just, I guess, got the shooter's roll. But the biggest thing was me staying locked in and stepping up to the challenge of the coaches and what my teammates challenged me to do."
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Gray blocked Veronica Burton twice and Cecilia Zandalasini once. Getting hit by a screen is something she tries to avoid, and she plays through it when it happens.
"Just being locked in, not giving up on the play," Gray said. "I feel like even though I get hit by a screen, which I try to avoid, it's just not giving up, just giving that championship effort. Just knowing that we need to win Game 6 to force Game 7. So it was just I had to give it my all regardless of what was going on on the court. Just not giving up on any play, just give my 100% effort."
Karl Smesko and Angel Reese on Gray
Gray had scored 15 points across Games 4 and 5 combined. Dream coach Karl Smesko said she took what the staff showed her on film into Game 6.
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"We're all super proud of Leash," Smesko said. "And I'll tell you, everything that we talked about that we wanted to see, she did it exactly. The execution from film and practice to the floor was flawless on her part. Obviously, these are as big a games as anybody's been a part of. And to just take what she saw and just implement it to that level. It was the first thing we said in the locker room, how proud we are of Leash."
Reese told Gray after Game 5 that the rest of the series would come down to who was mentally better.
"Leash does what Leash does," Reese said. "And honestly, she's never made an excuse for anything. She might be hurting, but you can't tell. She comes out every day and she puts in the work, and I'm just really proud of her. She's very coachable. She takes the film and makes sure she executes it in the game every single time."
"Me and her had a conversation on the way back from San Fran," Reese added. "I told her it was going to be a mental game. Who is going to be mentally better? You can't let anybody check you out. You know exactly who you are. I just want her to continue to be confident in who she is. I always remind her, you that girl, you're a superstar. Act like a superstar and always be a superstar."
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Gray, a four-time All-Star, started all 44 regular-season games and shot 46.2% from the field. She was a 2025 All-WNBA First Team selection.
Atlanta is 1-2 at Chase Center in the series. Tip-off for Game 7 is 8 p.m. ET Saturday, on USA Network and Peacock.
