The Atlanta Dream is still alive.

Pursuing its first WNBA title, Atlanta defeated Golden State 80-69 on Thursday in Game 6 of the WNBA Finals in a sold-out State Farm Arena. The championship game will be at 8 p.m. Saturday in San Francisco.

“We’re excited for it,” Dream Head Coach Karl Smesko said. “We know the job is not done. We've got a great opportunity, and you know we expect to go out there and play great.”

Allisha Gray led Atlanta with 23 points, Rhyne Howard added 21, and Angel Reese scored 15 with 14 rebounds.

It was a much-improved performance from Games 4 and 5. The Dream shot 43.5%. It committed 15 turnovers, but its defense limited the Valkyries to 12 points off those mistakes. Atlanta turned 11 Valkyries’ turnovers into 18 points.

“You can tell we definitely got our swagger back,” Reese said. “Shout out to the crowd being able to come here at 12:30 on a Thursday, and so many things going on in the world, from school to work to everything else. And we're just super thankful. We fed off their energy.”

Atlanta used a 13-0 run in the first quarter to carry a 32-15 lead into the second. It was the most scored by the team in the finals this season, and it was the largest first-quarter lead in finals history.

Smesko said the offense was better because it played at its pace, with improved spacing and fundamentals.

“It's just the way that we're capable of playing, and the way we're supposed to play,” he said. “And I give our players so much credit for the way they came out today. They were relentless.”

Atlanta increased its lead to 46-26 at halftime. The Dream hit 53.1% of its shots, scoring 10 points off turnovers.

“We know when we play Atlanta Dream basketball and support each other and move the ball we're successful,” Gray said.

The Dream carried a 63-47 lead into the final quarter.

Atlanta’s lead was cut to eight with 1:15 left. Gray answered with her fifth 3-pointer to end the hope of a rally.

“When we can punch first, we’ve won every single game,” Reese said. “I'm just really proud of just how we came out tonight, and we have to make sure we continue that going into Ballhalla.”