Angel Reese slammed for 'giving up' as Atlanta Dream crumbles during WNBA Finals
Angel Reese was accused of giving up in the final seconds of the Dream's loss on Saturday -Credit:Getty Images (Getty Images)
WNBA fans ruthlessly slammed Angel Reese for “giving up” in the closing seconds of the Atlanta Dream’s 68-64 loss to the Golden State Valkyries in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.
With the Dream trailing 66-64 in the closing 10 seconds of the fourth quarter, Rhyne Howard attempted to drive to the basket but bobbled the ball. The star guard subsequently dished the rock out to Allisha Gray, who chucked up an airball from well behind the arc.
The off-target shot fell into the waiting arms of Kaila Charles, who passed it off to Gabby Williams as valuable seconds continued to tick away. Rather than attempt to foul Williams and stop the clock, Reese dropped her arms and lackadaisically walked away, seemingly accepting defeat. Earlier in the afternoon, both teams drew backlash for their national anthem gesture.
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Taking to social media, droves of viewers blasted Reese for not giving the Dream a fighting chance at the end of the contest.
“Hate how Angel Reese quit after that shot by Alisha Gray. Got to play through adversity,” one X user wrote, with another adding: “Angel Reese gets upset that her teammate missed the shot, and then completely gives up when they were only down two with 5 seconds left. Go for the ball! Don't give up Angel!”
A third chimed in, “Angel Reese you cannot have that 2nd half body language. You cannot shrink yourself and self defeat and be so lackadaisical.”
Reese appeared to be well on her way to a dominant Finals debut, recording 14 points in the first two quarters as the Dream took a 42-39 lead into half.
But the star forward failed to score a single point in the second half, going 0-of-3 from the field while also amassing three turnovers and five fouls.
The Dream’s offense as a whole sputtered to a halt in the final 10 minutes of regulation, with Atlanta scoring just eight points in the fourth quarter.
Speaking to reporters during a downtrodden press conference, Reese had little explanation for why the Dream found little success on offense after halftime. “I don't think they really did anything,” she said of the Valkyries.
“Maybe that was just on me. I wasn't aggressive enough with the ball, and trying to get the ball and get to my spot. So I'm definitely going to do a better job of that next game.”
Angel Reese failed to score any points in the second half of the Dream's loss to the Valkyries -Credit:Getty Images
Dream head coach Karl Smesko acknowledged that Atlanta will need to do a better job of getting Reese the ball in Game 2, noting, “I just think in the second half in particular, we didn't move the ball well enough.
“We did a little bit too much one-on-one instead of getting in actions. Angel had a great first half. We didn't get her the ball enough.
“Those will be some things that we talk about for game two.”
Source: Sports
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