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10/26 15:22 CDT Game 6 of WNBA Finals set for State Farm Arena at 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday Game 6 of WNBA Finals set for State Farm Arena at 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer The WNBA has moved Game 6 of the finals between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries to a 12:30 p.m. tipoff Thursday at the home area of the Atlanta Hawks so that the NBA can keep its previously scheduled primetime contest that day. The WNBA worked with the NBA to move the game to State Farm Arena, where Games 3 and 4 of the championship series were played. The Hawks have a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers that night that couldn't be moved to another date or place. The only way they could make it work was to play the early afternoon game. The Hawks game against the Cavaliers was moved back an hour. "The sellout crowds and extraordinary atmosphere at State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4 were a tremendous success, and we're excited to give thousands more fans the opportunity to experience Game 6 with a championship on the line," WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Monday. "We thank the NBA, Dream, Valkyries, Hawks, State Farm Arena and USA Network for the collaboration and flexibility that made this move possible. We look forward to delivering another unforgettable Finals experience in Atlanta." Game 5 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Monday night in San Francisco. By playing Game 6 in State Farm Arena, the Dream can have more than 17,000 fans as opposed to their normal home of Gateway Center Arena, which seats about 3,500. Games 3 and 4 were sold out. "Super excited that the game will be at State Farm," Atlanta guard Jordin Canada said. "The crowd has shown up and showed out." Dream coach Karl Smesko said the only thing that would change with the early tip was that neither team would have a shootaround. "I don't care if we're playing at 8 a.m., 10 p.m., midnight, we got a championship to win," Dream guard Allisha Gray said. It was the third time in the series that the WNBA made accommodations for the Dream to be able 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. ET so the Hawks could still host their home opener that night against Houston. That game was moved back 30 minutes to allow more time for the arena staff to change the building over for the Hawks contest. Now there potentially could be a champion crowned that day so there will be more time between games. "When we were done (changing the court after Game 4), I texted our CEO and I said ?Hey, if you need us to do it again, we're ready to go,'" State Farm Arena chief facilities officer Amanda Mann said. The NBA and WNBA explored options to keep the game in primetime. Both the Hawks and Cavaliers play Wednesday night, so they couldn't play their game in the earlier time slot Thursday. Playing the game with the afternoon start time isn't ideal for anybody. It will be tough to sell out the arena and ratings will most likely be lower with the early start. The game will tip at 9:30 a.m. local time in San Francisco. While the league didn't know until last Saturday that there would definitely be a Game 6 played in Atlanta, a contingency plan could have been put in place a long time ago by Engelbert and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. The eight playoff teams were known in early September, before the women's FIBA World Cup break. 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. In the past, games wouldn't be played on a Monday night --- like Game 5 will be --- because of the NFL contract that ESPN has. They also wouldn't be played on a Saturday, the day that Games 3 and 7 would be played, because of ESPN's college football contracts. ___ See AP's full WNBA coverage here

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