Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I hope you’ve already figured out what your Halloween costume will be. 

In today’s SI:AM: 
🏀 Stage set for Game 7
☘️ Hannah Hidalgo’s back for more
🐻 Bears make big trade

It’s winner-take-all tomorrow night

Every sports fan loves a Game 7, but it was an especially welcome development in the WNBA Finals because it meant we didn’t have to see a champion crowned at 3 p.m. on a Thursday. Instead, either the Dream or Valkyries will lift the trophy tomorrow in primetime. 

Atlanta cruised to a relatively easy 80–69 win in Game 6 yesterday to force a decisive game in San Francisco tomorrow night. The Dream led by 20 at halftime and stretched their advantage to as many as 23 in the third quarter. They led by 19 early in the fourth quarter before a late push by the Valkyries made it a little more competitive, but Atlanta held on to win. 

Golden State’s lousy first half basically ensured a Dream victory. The Valks’ 26 points were their second fewest in the first half of a game this postseason, better only than the 25 points they scored in the first half of Game 5. They were just the second team this postseason to trail by at least 20 at halftime. (The only other 20-point halftime margin was Golden State’s 27-point lead over the Wings in Game 1 of their first-round series.)

Poor offense has been a theme throughout this series. Part of it can be chalked up to the increased defensive intensity of playoff basketball, but there’s no denying that both teams are struggling to score. Neither team played brilliant offensive basketball in the regular season—the Dream ranked 11th in field-goal percentage and the Valkyries were dead last—but they’ve been even worse in this series. Atlanta is shooting 37.2% from the floor, 7.0 percentage points worse than in the regular season, while Golden State is a miserable 34.5%, a 7.7-percentage-point drop. 

Hopefully both teams play a more pleasing style of basketball in Game 7. 

Big night for star rookie

If you were looking for some more aesthetically pleasing basketball, hopefully you got to see Cameron Boozer last night. 

Boozer, the third pick in this year’s NBA draft, posted 18 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in the Grizzlies’ 124–103 win over the Trail Blazers. It was just his fifth career game. 

Boozer is the third player since the NBA-ABA merger 50 years ago to record a triple-double in one of the first five games of his career. The others are Ben Simmons and Magic Johnson. Only two players accomplished the feat pre-merger. Art Williams had a triple-double for the San Diego Rockets in his fourth game in 1967 and Oscar Robertson did so in four of his first five games as a rookie in 1960. Boozer, 19, is the youngest player on the list and also played fewer minutes (28) than the rest. He’s the second-youngest player to record a triple-double, 19 days older than Josh Giddey, who did it in his 31st career game in 2022. 

Despite a shaky debut game, Boozer has had an excellent start to his pro career. He leads the Grizzlies in both rebounding (10.8 per game) and assists (6.2 per game) and is second in scoring behind Ty Jerome (15.8 per game to Jerome’s 25.8). 

Improbably, the Grizzlies, who went 25–57 last season, are one of just two undefeated teams left in the NBA, along with the Rockets. They’re one win away from tying the franchise record for longest season-opening winning streak, set in 2014. 

The best of Sports Illustrated

The top five…

… things I saw last night:
5. Jordan Love’s 53-yard bomb to Christian Watson. 
4. A really nice bucket by Ja Morant. 
3. Kings rookie Darius Acuff Jr.’s powerful dunk. 
2. Logan Cooley’s game-tying goal for the Mammoth with one second left in regulation against the Penguins. It was the third goal of the game for Cooley, who grew up in Pittsburgh. 
1. North Texas running back Jahiem White’s comical fumble. 

📺 What we’re watching today …

NBA

Knicks at 76ers, 7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video
The teams will meet for the second time this season, this time to kick off the NBA Cup, which New York won last season. The 76ers won the last meeting, 106–100, on Opening Night, with Tyrese Maxey scoring 28 points.

Lakers at Warriors, 10 p.m. ET, Prime Video
Los Angeles won its season opener against Golden State, 127–105, with Luka Dončić leading the way with 28 points.

College football

Tulane at Charlotte, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
The Green Wave (3–4) are coming off a humiliating 42-19 home loss to UTSA, a performance that erased momentum after their 31-17 victory over Memphis. The 49ers (1–6,) snapped a 15-game losing streak with a 38-31 victory at Temple.

Baylor at UCF, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
The Bears are entering a new era after firing head coach Dave Aranda following a 25-24 loss to Kansas. Meanwhile, the Knights are riding high after beating then-No. 2 BYU 39–31 in double overtime.