The Valkyries answered the call in Game 5, pitching a near shutout of the Dream's high-octane offense to take a 3-2 lead in the WNBA Finals.

Golden State's defense — and its unheralded anchor, Kiah Stokes — blanked Atlanta for much of the contest, helping Natalie Nakase's side claim a decisive 64-55 win. 

The game was a slugfest; the Valkyries' 64-point tally was the lowest in a Finals win since 2005, while the Dream's 55 were the fewest in a Finals game since 2021.

Atlanta certainly was left smarting after the defeat, its second-straight after racing out to a 2-1 lead. After the contest, Angel Reese and head coach Karl Smesko had choice words for the way officiating was handled in the contest.

Here's what you need to know.

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Karl Smesko backs up Angel Reese, calls out 'ridiculous' officiating

Smesko credited the Valkyries defense with tightening up in Game 5. He also shared Reese's belief that the contact the Dream were forced to endure in the contest was excessive.

"I want to have Angel's back here," Smesko said. "The contact on Angel compared to everybody else is just ridiculous. Just ridiculous."

Karl Smesko rips the officiating: "The contact they allow on Angel compared to everybody else is just ridiculous, just ridiculous. And we should have gone to the foul line six to eight more times just on that and then to miss double dribbles and travels, multiple that always led to points? Man, you can't be at this level and make that many mistakes. I'm kind of tired of some of the excuses that I'm hearing"

— Oh No He Didn't 🤯 (@ohnohedidnt24) October 27, 2026

After averaging 29 free throws a game in Games 1-4, Atlanta stepped to the charity stripe just 14 times in Game 5. There were a number of contentious no-calls that landed in Golden State's favor, none more egregious than this stop by Veronica Burton that the Valkyries defender smack Allisha Gray in the face.

fantastic job by the refs on this no call, all ball here https://t.co/Xps9FMyTXX

— cj (@wsgadIibs) October 27, 2026

"You can't be at this level and make that many mistakes," Smesko said.

Atlanta's coach argued that Reese was the biggest victim of the refereeing inconsistencies. The Dream star was held to fewer than 10 points for the second-straight game. She attempted four free throws and was called for four fouls.

Reese offered a similar assessment to Smesko, saying that questionable officiating has been a theme in her games throughout the season.

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"I am still trying to figure out how to play through the physicality," Reese said. "I'm kind of used to it because this was happening throughout the season, so I have to just continue to play through it.

"I know I have the mismatch, especially talking about matchups. So when I do switch on the post and I'm a lot stronger than the opponent, I should be able to turn and they're calling an offensive foul. But when I'm getting pushed before that, it's frustrating to me."

After a strong start to the series, Reese and Co. find themselves on the brink of elimination. They'll hope to get a little home cooking from the referees when they return to the floor on Thursday afternoon at State Farm Arena. Given their offensive toils as of late — Atlanta is shooting 31 percent in its last two games — they certainly need it