The Golden State Valkyries are one win away from a championship in just their second season. Kiah Stokes scored 13 points and anchored another smothering defensive night as Golden State beat the Atlanta Dream 64-55 on Monday at Chase Center to take a 3-2 lead in the WNBA Finals.

Stokes tied her season high in scoring, hit three 3-pointers, grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 3 shots. The home crowd serenaded her with MVP chants. She has now blocked at least three shots in six straight playoff games, matching a record held by Lisa Leslie.

Veronica Burton also scored 13 points for the Valkyries. Golden State can wrap up the title in Game 6 on Thursday in Atlanta. Tipoff is set for 11:30 a.m. Central. A Game 7, if needed, would be Saturday back at Chase Center.

A defensive grind

This was not a pretty game. Atlanta shot just 29.2% from the field, the fourth-lowest mark by any team in a Finals game. The Dream also turned the ball over 17 times, which led to 21 Golden State points. They scored only 18 points in the paint.

The Valkyries did not light it up either. Their 64 points were the fewest by a winning team in a Finals game since 2005. The 119 combined points rank as the fifth-lowest total in Finals history.

Stokes has been the problem for Atlanta all series. The Dream have made just 9 of 48 shots when she is the defender contesting them.

Praise for Stokes

Golden State coach Natalie Nakase did not hold back. "Kiah Stokes will be our MVP," she said. Burton agreed. "We're not here without Kiah," she said.

Stokes is in her first season with the Valkyries after stints with New York and Las Vegas, where she won three championships with the Aces. She was all business after the win. "As much as we love Ballhalla, we don't want to come back here," she said, meaning she wants to finish the job in Atlanta.

Dream frustrated

Rhyne Howard led Atlanta with 20 points. Angel Reese battled foul trouble all night and finished with 7 points on 2-of-8 shooting with 4 fouls while still pulling down 15 rebounds.

Dream coach Karl Smesko was unhappy with how Reese was officiated. "The contact on Angel compared to everybody else is just ridiculous," he said.

Now Atlanta has to win twice to take the title. The Dream will have their home crowd behind them on Thursday afternoon.