SAN FRANCISCO — Chase Center was a beautiful field of lilac on Saturday.

What a scene the first game of the WNBA Finals was in San Francisco.

Euphoric? That might be underplaying it — this was nirvana at Ballhalla.

The game? That was anything but beautiful.

What else did you expect from the two best defensive teams in the WNBA with everything on the line?

This was a fist fight, a donnybrook, a good ol’ fashioned row.

Forearms to the face, elbows to the ribs, a constant stream of bodies on the floor and a rim that had a lid on it for most of the game.

The Atlanta Dream had an effective field goal percentage of 36% on Saturday; the Valkyries were 0.5 percentage points better. Let me translate that for those who don’t speak VORP: Yikes.

The offense in this game? Clunky.

The defense? Unrelenting.

But the result for the Valks? Exquisite.

Atlanta, which led for all but a few moments in the second half, made two free throws to go ahead by three points with 3:12 remaining in this slugfest.

The Dream didn’t score again. The Valkyries’ defensive vise is still as good as it gets in the W.

In all, Atlanta shot 2 of 18 in the fourth quarter as Golden State ran off seven unanswered points — six from Gabby Williams — to close out a 68-64 win and take a 1-0 lead in this best-of-seven series.

But Game 1 didn’t give us much new information. No, this series was always going to be tough and tight, and whoever could find a way to score late would claim the opening game.

Enter Williams, once again.

“Gabby is one of the best players in the world, hands down,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said postgame. “She’s showing it at the perfect time right now.”

Is she ever.

Williams’ ascent into superstardom has come via her clutch play this postseason, and Saturday was just the latest example.

Not only was she the best player on the court anytime she was out there (Angel Reese had a nice run with Williams on the bench in the first half), but when the moments were biggest, she played her best.

It wasn’t a terribly efficient offensive game for Williams, but that was never in the cards in Game 1. It likely won’t be in the cards for this series.

This is a moment where pragmatism rules: All that matters is the result.

Her result? Elite defense, 26 points scored — including eight of the Valkyries’ last nine — and a difference of 28 points when she was on the court versus off it. Golden State was outscored by 12 in her seven minutes on the bench but plus-16 in her 33 minutes played.

Williams wasn’t just a cog in the Valkyries’ offensive machine Saturday; she was the machine.

Now, Golden State wouldn’t have been in that situation without the great play of Kiah Stokes (nine points, seven rebounds and four blocks), a surprising but highly effective 14-minute spurt from Laeticia Amihere, who had not played in the Valkyries’ previous five games leading into Saturday, and key minutes from Kaila Charles (10 rebounds, two steals, plus-13).

“Her engine was on full throttle tonight,” Nakase said of Charles. “Her fight was unmatched tonight. She was exactly what we needed.”

But it was Williams who, once again, brought the Valks home. She spotted the Dream a three-minute head start and still scored as much as Atlanta did as a team in the fourth quarter, knocking down all six of her free-throw attempts in the closing period.

“I’ve been in this situation many times this season, and I feel the trust,” Williams said. “That might be why these moments don’t feel as heavy.”

It was a moment months in the making.

Williams started her turn as this team’s closer in the Valks’ and Dream’s second regular-season matchup on June 26 at Chase Center, scoring 13 points on 4-of-4 shooting in a come-from-behind win.

The Valkyries came into that midseason matchup with a record of 11-7.

They have gone 27-5 since.

For a team that is only two years old, everything is a learning moment. This is all new, uncharted territory.

But once Williams took the role of closer — a role she has grown into more and more as the season has turned into postseason — the Valks became dominant.

Contrast that with Rhyne Howard, the Dream’s former No. 1 overall pick and should-be closer who was 3 for 14 Saturday and is now shooting 28% from the field against the Valkyries in four games this season.

Now, this series is going to be a war of attrition; indeed, this might be the cleanest basketball we see in this series.

In that regard, the Valkyries picked up a big advantage after Game 1.

The Valks, unsurprisingly, went 10 deep Saturday, with only Williams playing more than 30 minutes.

Atlanta, on the other hand, had four of its five starters play as much as or more than Williams. Jordin Canada and Howard were off the court for less than four minutes combined.

The first three games of this series will be played by Wednesday night, with a cross-country flight after Game 2 on Monday. The Valkyries don’t just have a 1-0 lead — they have Atlanta on the ropes after just one game.

If the Dream’s legs were tired Saturday, what are they going to be moving forward?

But before moving forward, take a moment — if you can — to think about the sheer audacity of this entire spectacle.

Three years ago, the Valkyries were nothing more than a press release.

Now, in Year 2 on the floor, they’re three wins away from a title, suffocating opponents under an avalanche of defensive venom with a superstar closing the door.

Three more wins will do it. Perhaps at that point the rest of the WNBA will understand what exactly just happened.

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