Dream coach Karl Smesko calls the contact on Angel Reese 'ridiculous' after Atlanta falls behind 3-2

Atlanta Dream coach Karl Smesko went after the officials Monday night after a 64-55 loss to the Golden State Valkyries put his team one game from elimination in the WNBA Finals.

"I want to have Angel's back here," Smesko said, according to ESPN. "The contact on Angel compared to everybody else is just ridiculous. Just ridiculous." He added: "You can't be at this level and make that many mistakes."

Smesko said Atlanta should have gone to the line six to eight more times on the contact against Reese alone, according to Underdog WNBA. He also said officials missed double dribbles and traveling violations by the Valkyries. "If you push someone with two hands, that's got to be a foul," he said. "I'm kind of tired of some of the excuses that I'm hearing."

Reese had seven points on 2-of-8 shooting, went 3 of 4 at the line and was called for four fouls. In Game 4 she had eight points on 2-of-12. It is the first time in her career, regular season or playoffs, that she has made two or fewer field goals in back-to-back games.

She said the calls changed after Atlanta went up 2-1 in the series. "It definitely shifted when we went up 2-1," Reese said. "I don't know what happened, but it definitely took a big turn."

The numbers back part of that. Atlanta shot 116 free throws in the first four games, 29 a game. On Monday it went 11 of 14, its fewest attempts of the postseason.

The numbers also show a team that couldn't score. Atlanta shot 29.2 percent from the field and 23.5 percent in the paint, the worst by any team in a game this postseason. Smesko admitted his players missed shots they should make. Fifty-five points was the lowest total in a Finals game since 2021.

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase didn't bite. "These are two defensive-minded teams," she said. "They like physicality, so that's part of it. I ain't shocked about this."

Golden State leads 3-2. Game 6 is Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.