State Farm Arena workers change Dream's WNBA Finals court in time for Hawks to host night game

ATLANTA (AP) — Once the WNBA Finals game finished, State Farm Arena workers got started preparing for the NBA.

Atlanta's arena conducted its first same-day court changeover on Saturday, removing the floor the Dream played on and replacing it with the one used by the Hawks.

Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, won by the Golden State Valkyries, started at 1 p.m. EDT. The Hawks were set to welcome the Houston Rockets at 8:30 p.m. for their home opener.

Approximately 2,500 staff members will work across the two events, helping with a changeover the arena estimated would take three to 3 1/2 hours.

“From the court to the concourses it's a total building reset in order to welcome our Hawks fans back into our world class venue,” said Amanda Mann, chief facilities officer for the Hawks and State Farm Arena.

The move comes after the two Atlanta franchises worked together to solve a scheduling crunch. The Dream moved from their regular home at Gateway Center to accommodate larger crowds, forcing a doubleheader with the Hawks. The WNBA moved the game from 3:30 to 1 p.m., and the Hawks slid their game back from 8 p.m. to 8:30 to allow enough time for the arena staff to change the court.

“Our conversions team practices, actually pretty regularly, taking apart the court and putting it back together,” Mann said. “We're fortunate that both the Dream court and the Hawks court are the same type of court, so being able to practice with the Hawks court doing exactly what I just said has really helped them get ready for today.”

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Workers quickly assemble the Atlanta Hawks court after Game 4 between WNBA Finals before the Hawks host the Houston Rocket in the home-opener NBA basketball game, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

Workers quickly assemble the Atlanta Hawks court after Game 4 between WNBA Finals before the Hawks host the Houston Rocket in the home-opener NBA basketball game, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

Workers quickly assemble the Atlanta Hawks court after Game 4 between WNBA Finals before the Hawks host the Houston Rocket in the home-opener NBA basketball game, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

Workers quickly assemble the Atlanta Hawks court after Game 4 between WNBA Finals before the Hawks host the Houston Rocket in the home-opener NBA basketball game, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic scored eight of his 35 points in overtime and finished with 15 rebounds and 10 assists, and the short-handed Denver Nuggets rallied from down 23 to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 141-135 on Saturday night.

Jokic had his 199th career triple-double in the regular season, second to Russell Westbrook, who retired with 209.

Jamal Murray scored 42 points and rookie Trevon Brazille had seven of his 17 points in overtime in his home debut for Denver, which took an early lead in overtime. His corner 3-pointer with 1:25 left in overtime gave the Nuggets a 133-129 lead.

Denver played without Cam Johnson (ankle) and Alpha Diallo (sprained wrist) and continued to be without Julian Strawther and Spencer Jones.

Trey Murphy III led New Orleans with 26 points, Dejounte Murray had 22 points and Derik Queen and Zion Williamson scored 17 each. The Pelicans have dropped their first three games under first-year coach Jamahl Mosley.

The Pelicans got some welcome news when center Yves Messi’s knee injury suffered Friday night in Utah is a contusion and not something more severe.

New Orleans shot 65.9% in the first half and led by 23. Denver rallied to cut it to 16, and Jokic and Murray combined to score 22 of the Nuggets' 32 points in the third quarter but the Pelicans extended the lead to 19 heading into the fourth.

Denver erased the deficit on 3-pointers from Murray and Jokic, a reverse dunk from Aaron Gordon, and then had a chance to go ahead with 17 seconds left but Murray made two of three free throws to tie it.

Pelicans: Host Denver on Wednesday night.

Nuggets: Host Golden State on Monday night.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray, left, drives past Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New Orleans Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears, left, drives to the rim past Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, right, passes the ball as New Orleans Pelicans center DeAndre Jordan defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New Orleans Pelicans center DeAndre Jordan, left reacts after dunking the ball for a basket as Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon looks on in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, left, looks to pass the ball as New Orleans Pelicans center DeAndre Jordan, right, defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)