Valkyries Lead Dream 3-2, Game 6 Thursday at 12:30 p.m. EDT at State Farm Arena Golden State moved one win from the WNBA title with a 64-55 Game 5 victory in San Francisco. Atlanta hosts Game 6 on Thursday afternoon at State Farm Arena in a potential clincher. Golden State moved one win away from a championship in its second season, beating Atlanta 64-55 on Monday night at Chase Center to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven WNBA Finals. The Valkyries can clinch the title Thursday in Game 6 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The game was moved to 12:30 p.m. EDT so the NBA could keep its primetime contest that night. State Farm Arena is the home of the Atlanta Hawks, who host the Cleveland Cavaliers that evening in a game that could not be moved. The Hawks game was pushed back one hour.Kiah Stokes And Veronica Burton Lead Valkyries DefenseKiah Stokes had 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Veronica Burton contributed 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, tying Diana Taurasi in 2009 for most blocks by a guard in a Finals game. Stokes has recorded three or more blocks in six straight games, tying Lisa Leslie in 2003 for the longest such streak in a single WNBA postseason. We are not here without Kiah, Burton said.Every single day, every single game, from the beginning. Just her veteran experience as well. It is more than just defense. Stokes added: We appreciate you.We got one more. Fans chanted MVP as she spoke after the buzzer. Angel Reese finished with seven points, 15 rebounds and five assists, a big drop from her two standout games at Chase Center earlier in the series. She shook her head when whistled for the second of her three offensive fouls with 7:43 to play.Atlanta Turnovers And Gabby Williams Struggle Help Golden StateAtlanta hurt itself with 17 turnovers that led to 21 Golden State points. On a night leading scorer Gabby Williams struggled, Golden State leaned on its strength in numbers mantra. Williams began 2 for 11 and missed all four of her 3-point tries, but she converted a three-point play with 9:08 remaining to put the Valkyries ahead 49-42. She finished with nine points on 3-for-14 shooting and six rebounds.Tiffany Hayes, who played 10 seasons for Atlanta and came out of retirement two years ago, had 12 points. Nakase inserted Hayes and Kaila Charles into the starting five for a 67-62 Game 4 win on Saturday and stayed with that lineup Monday. Nakase has said she wants to win it all for the veteran guard. Golden State led 25-22 at the break, the lowest scoring combined first half in WNBA Finals history.Neither team found a flow from deep in the first half, combining to shoot 5 for 29 from 3-point range, with Golden State at 3 for 16 and Atlanta at 2 for 13. Stokes hit a key 3-pointer with 2:46 left in the third quarter and another with 7:21 remaining, igniting chants of Ki-ah from the sellout, rally-towel waving Chase Center crowd. She said it feels pretty special and that hearing a full arena makes her feel appreciated and loved.Rhyne Howard had a three-point play with 4:59 left in the third that pulled Atlanta within 34-31, but after that Stokes, Burton and the Valkyries made all the crucial plays on both ends. Stokes said defense has been the team staple all season. Nothing has changed, we win two games we are champions, Dream coach Karl Smesko said.Dream Seek To Stave Off Elimination In Atlanta Game SixAtlanta will try to stave off elimination at home in Game 6 and force a deciding Game 7 back at Chase Center on Saturday. By playing at the Hawks arena, the Dream can host more than 17,000 fans. Their usual home, Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia, seats about 3,500. More than 10,000 tickets were sold in the first 90 minutes they were on sale, according to a Dream spokesperson.Games 3 and 4 were sold out. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the sellout crowds and atmosphere at State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4 were a tremendous success. She said the league is excited to give thousands more fans the chance to experience Game 6 with a championship on the line. She thanked the NBA, Dream, Valkyries, Hawks, State Farm Arena and USA Network for the collaboration and flexibility that made the move possible.Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase downplayed the difficulty of the early tipoff. She said her team is always prepped for anything and already scheduled intentionally, adding the main thing is rest and recovery. She noted the team had six games in 10 days during the regular season. Nakase said the team controls what it can control, which is rest and recovery.Asked about staying grounded through the series, she said the team is built for this and can handle anything thrown at it. She said they like things that are hard and love challenges. Golden State guard Veronica Burton said the team is not thinking about the quick arena turnaround right now, adding it was a Game 5 mentality.Because the court must be changed for the Hawks game Thursday night, the floor may have to be cleared quickly even if the Valkyries clinch the title. Atlanta guard Jordin Canada said she is super excited the game will be at State Farm Arena. She said the crowd has shown up and showed out.Dream coach Karl Smesko said he was happy the game got worked out but feels bad for fans who would attend if it were not during working hours. I hope everybody gets to see it somehow and I know that for some people it is not realistic because they have jobs and will not be able to make it, Smesko said. He said he is disappointed for that but hopeful as many people as possible can see the game.He also said he would like to see it be a national holiday for all WNBA championship games. Some Valkyries fans expressed frustration about the early start time, which will be 9:30 a.m. Pacific time in San Francisco. One female fan said she will take time off work Thursday. Another said it is disappointing more West Coast fans cannot cheer for the Valkyries, citing kid drop-offs and school.Arena Logistics And Broadcast Scheduling Complicate Championship WeekendSome retirees said they get up early anyway and will watch on television. State Farm Arena chief facilities officer Amanda Mann said that when the crew finished changing the court after Game 4, she texted the CEO and said if they need it done again, they are ready to go. It was the third time in the series the WNBA made accommodations for the Dream to play at the bigger arena.Game 3 was moved up a day to last Wednesday, and Saturday's contest started at 1 p.m. EDT so the Hawks could host their home opener that night against Houston. That game was moved back 30 minutes to give arena staff more time to change the building over. Now a champion could be crowned Thursday, so there will be more time between games. The NBA and WNBA explored options to keep the game in primetime.Both the Hawks and Cavaliers play Wednesday night, so they could not play earlier Thursday. After the first two games drew record ratings, viewership will likely take a hit with the early start time. The league did not know until last Saturday there would definitely be a Game 6 in Atlanta, but a contingency plan could have been put in place long ago by Engelbert and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.The eight playoff teams were known in early September, before the WNBA paused its season for the women's FIBA World Cup. Without the World Cup, the playoffs would have been two weeks earlier, before the NBA regular season began. Part of the issue is that unlike the Valkyries, who are controlled by Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob, the Dream and Hawks are owned by different groups.Also, with NBC and USA Sports broadcasting the games this year, WNBA Finals games are on different nights than in previous years. In the past, games were not played on Monday nights, like Game 5 was, because of ESPN's NFL contract. They also would not be scheduled on Saturdays, the day Games 3 and a potential Game 7 would be played.Golden State owner Joe Lacob promised a championship within five years when the expansion franchise was granted to the Bay Area three years ago. This season has exceeded even what he could have envisioned. Before Game 5 this week, both the Dream and Valkyries left the floor moments before the national anthem and returned seconds after it ended, continuing a pattern from earlier in the series.