Angel Reese’s first WNBA Finals game drew praise on X around the end of the first quarter. By the final buzzer Saturday, she had not scored since halftime, and the Atlanta Dream had lost Game 1 to the Golden State Valkyries, 68-64, at Chase Center.

Sports broadcaster Robin Lundberg was among those reacting on X as the game went on, first to Reese’s start and later to her finish. The Dream forward finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and five fouls, and Golden State closed the game on a 7-0 run.

Angel Reese’s First Half Drew Early Praise on X

Reese, the Defensive Player of the Year and Atlanta’s big offseason addition, was making her Finals debut. The Dream led 22-14 after one quarter, and the praise for her came in around the time it ended. Lundberg wrote that Reese was “absolutely dominating.”

A fan called Reese “such a special player” and pointed to the determination behind everything she does on the court.

Another fan praised her tenacity, her aggression, her stamina, and her touch around the rim with either hand, writing that she “Angel Reese is so [expletive] good bro. Tenacity, aggression, don’t get tired, gets better and better with the touch around the rim either hand, completely controlled the first quarter.”

Reese had 14 points and six rebounds at halftime. Golden State still led 42-39 at the break after winning the second quarter 28-17. Gabby Williams scored 16 of her points in that quarter.

Reese did not score in the second half. Atlanta still led 56-51 after three quarters and was up 64-61 after Rhyne Howard made two free throws with 3:12 left. The Dream did not score again.

Williams made two free throws with 2:15 to go to cut the lead to one. At the 1:18 mark, she drew a foul on Reese and made both free throws to put Golden State ahead for good, 65-64.

Reese came up with a steal moments after Howard missed a 3-pointer with 1:09 left, but Atlanta missed its final four 3-point attempts, including one from Allisha Gray with 9 seconds left. Williams sealed it with two more free throws with 4.1 seconds remaining and finished with 26 points.

Reese finished 5-of-11 from the field, with five offensive rebounds, two steals, four turnovers and five fouls in 35 minutes.

Lundberg, who had called Reese dominant early in the game, saw the finish differently. After the game, he credited the Valkyries’ defense down the stretch and wrote, “A bit of an implosion by Angel Reese with the fouls.”

A fan pointed out that Reese had no points in the second half while crediting her rebounding and defense: “Wild cause she was hooping in the first quarter.”

The Real App account, which posted Reese’s numbers throughout the afternoon, looked at her whole playoff run after the final. It wrote that Reese is “The fastest player in WNBA/NBA playoff history to reach” 100 points, 10 steals, and 10 blocks.

The loss was the Dream’s first of the postseason after they went 5-0 against Washington and New York. Whether Reese can carry her first-half play through a full game against Golden State’s defense is the question they take into Game 2 on Monday night at Chase Center.