Valkyries lean into the Balhalla effect, but where’s Janelle Salaün?

Alison Garvin, left, of Oakland, looks at friend Mallory Haggart of El Sobrante as Haggart gives her best Janelle Salaün impression during a timeout in Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals at Chase Center on Sunday. “Ballhalla is a special thing. The spirit is fun at Ballhalla,” Haggart said. “It’s happy, joyous and zany. We make it on the Jumbotron a lot.”

Yalonda M. James/S.F. Chronicle

Valkyries fans cheer in the fourth quarter during Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals against the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday at Chase Center.

Yalonda M. James/S.F. Chronicle

There’s been talk about crowd noise since the Golden State Warriors moved from Oracle Arena to Chase Center in 2019.

Could the glitzy San Francisco waterfront arena mimic the deafening roars that defined the old Oakland arena, nicknamed Roaracle for its loud crowd? A Steph Curry flurry can certainly get any Warriors crowd to reach peak decibel levels, but it couldn’t have gotten much louder than Ballhalla was on Wednesday night. 

The volume was high all night as the Valkyries fended off the reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces’ comeback. No moment was louder than when Veronica Burton hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 42 seconds left.

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“These fans,” Aces head coach Becky Hammon said before Game 2. “They are lit.”

With the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx eliminated in Round 1, the No. 2 seed Valkyries have home-court advantage for as long as this run will take them. The crowd makes that advantage real.

The Valkyries feed off the violet-clad, flashy and raucous crowd, which sold out for a 49th straight game, dating back to last season — every home game in the franchise’s existence. They’ve won every postseason game at Ballhalla so far (4-0) after going 17-5 at home in the regular season. Their lone playoff loss, an overtime thriller, happened on the road against the Dallas Wings.

“Obviously, Ballhalla, we feel all the emotion they feel and we feed off of it,” Burton said. “We’re aware when they’re on a run, but at the end of the day, how can we continue to get them involved and make small plays, big plays, it’s being able to sustain the lead.”

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The Chase Center crowd erupted in cheers as the Valkyries defeated the Las Vegas Aces 83-81 in Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals Wednesday.

Joy Jihyun Jeong, S.F. Chronicle

If the Valkyries win every home game, the title is theirs. And their home-court advantage is strong enough that it’s increasingly hard to imagine them losing at Ballhalla. One win on the road this series against the star-studded Aces will be an important challenge, though.

Burton’s role: Burton’s game-clinching 3-pointer on Wednesday night was the first and last shot she made all night. And it took a little coaxing from Gabby Williams to get her there; Williams passed it to her initially, and Burton passed it back. Two seconds later, Williams fed it to Burton with an open look at the rim — and she nailed it.

Williams has been the emerging star and closer these playoffs, but the Valkyries don’t advance out of the playoffs’ first round without Burton’s aggression. She kept them afloat in Game 3 against the Wings and sparked their comeback down 16 points. 

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In contrast against the Aces, Burton has been relatively quiet. She sat on the bench for a majority of the second half in Game 1 as Kaitlyn Chen took on point guard duties for the entire fourth quarter. Burton scored four points over 18 minutes and had a rare game with more turnovers (two) than assists (one). Before sitting for good, Burton had missed an open layup and ticked front iron on a 3-pointer. Chen had 11 points in 22 minutes, getting crafty at the rim as the Valkyries pulled away. Burton played a more normal 27 minutes in Game 2, but she was deferential as a scorer.

Head coach Natalie Nakase said after Game 1 that Burton was “amazing” and that Chen was just the “fresh” option. Perhaps we’re seeing the long season catch up to players in spots. It certainly caught up to Nakase, who passed out from exhaustion on the sideline during Game 3 of Round 1.

“This season is six months,” Nakase said. “No matter how you say it, whether we had a break or not, we’re still a little bit exhausted, no matter how you look at it.”

Nakase gave players two days off from full practice between Games 1 and 2, she said, and gave herself a full day off as well — deferring to her assistant coaches for a day. 

“I mean, look at me,” she said. “I’m a complete example of emptying the tank.”

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Where’s Salaün? Janelle Salaün unanimously won the Sixth Player of the Year Award on Sunday. It was a no-brainer award as she set WNBA records for points and 3-pointers as a reserve, leading the league’s best bench. 

Valkyries forward Gabby Williams (left) confers with forward Janelle Salaün as they face the Las Vegas Aces in Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals Wednesday at Chase Center.

Yalonda M. James/S.F. Chronicle

The bench has been a clear advantage for Golden State in these playoffs, often providing the scoring and spark to overcome opponents and lead comebacks. Tiffany Hayes, Chen and Kaila Charles have been the standouts on both ends.

But Salaün hasn’t been in the mix at all, both in the first and second rounds thus far. She played 21 minutes in their Game 1 rout of Dallas but went 1-for-6 from the field (1-for-4 from 3). She bounced back a bit in the overtime Game 2 loss, shooting 5-for-14, but didn’t hit a 3-pointer in her 30 minutes. 

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By the third game against Dallas, her role had shifted entirely. She played just eight minutes total and hit one 3-pointer. And against the Aces, she has played a collective 10 minutes and shot 1-for-5 over the first two games.

Her disappearing act hasn’t been an issue because other bench players are stepping up. But it’s a notable fall-off for the sixth player of the year, who has the shot creation potential to win games.