Instant Takeaways: Storm Fall to Another Late Sparks Surge, Playoff Hopes Take a Hit
Allowing the Los Angeles Sparks to erase a double-digit deficit for the third time in the last three matchups between the two teams, the Seattle Storm once again blew a big lead in a 91-85 loss on Monday, Sept. 1, at Climate Pledge Arena.
Two games after rallying back from a 21-point deficit against the Minnesota Lynx to win by 14, the Storm allowed the Sparks to come back from 17 points down and win by six in another disappointing contest against Los Angeles.
Los Angeles (19-20), much like the Indiana Fever and Golden State Valkyries, has been the Storm’s Achilles’ heel this season in terms of poor matchups and an inability to sustain leads. It’s about the worst loss for Seattle (22-20) to take late in the season, as the Sparks are pushing for the Storm’s playoff spot.
Even a great first half wasn’t enough to give the Storm enough of a cushion in another backbreaking defeat to the Sparks.
Here’s what we learned from Seattle’s Monday loss to Los Angeles.
Raining threes early
The Storm haven’t been a good 3-point shooting team this season. However, after having a season-high 16 threes in a statement win against the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday, Seattle picked up right where it left off.
Nneka Ogwumike drilled five triples in the first half alone, and Seattle knocked down 10 as a team in just the first 20 minutes of the game. That helped the Storm build up a healthy 53-49 lead at the break.
It was one of those first halves where they just couldn’t seem to miss. But the ball movement is what created those opportunities, with the Storm regularly finding themselves wide open on the perimeter. Ogwumike, especially, made good on those opportunities, and she had all 15 of her first-half points on threes.
Was it sustainable? Honestly, for a time, it felt like it. However, the Storm quickly remembered why they hadn’t relied on 3-point shooting in 2025.
Sparks charge back once again
In the last two matchups, Los Angeles overcame leads of 16 and 10 by the Storm, dealing Seattle gutwrenching losses in both of those contests. The Storm led by 17 against the Sparks early in the third quarter on Monday before Los Angeles came storming back again.
Led by Dearica Hamby, Rickea Jackson and Kelsey Plum, Los Angeles outscored the Storm 29-20 in the third quarter to rapidly close the gap. The Sparks kept the pressure on Seattle, limiting its 3-point shooting, and Los Angeles took their first lead of the game, 87-85, with less than two minutes remaining in the game.
Following their incredible long-range shooting in the first half, the Storm made just three 3-pointers on 15 attempts in the second half. They kept chucking them up, but they weren’t falling. Meanwhile, Los Angeles pounded the ball inside — taking advantage of Dominique Malonga’s second-half foul trouble.
When Malonga was on the court, the Storm were plus-14 on the scoreboard (she did, however, struggle at the free-throw line). But she was only able to play 14 minutes after picking up five fouls. Everyone else on the Seattle roster finished with a plus-minus of zero or lower because of the late collapse.
The Sparks kept dominating, finishing the game on a 19-5 run over the final six minutes of the contest. Seattle essentially gave in at the end, allowing Los Angeles to dribble it out.
Seattle has now surrendered leads of 17, 16 and 10 in the last three games against the Sparks — placing the spotlight directly on head coach Noelle Quinn’s late-game management. The Storm were 3-0 this season when sinking 12 or more triples until tonight.
Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins tied for a team-high 21 points, while the former added three steals and the latter dished out six assists. Ezi Magbegor posted 11 points, five rebounds, six assists and three blocks.
Hamby was dominant with a game-high 27 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and three steals. Jackson added 23 points, while Plum finished with 14 points and seven assists.
The postseason logjam
A win against the Sparks would have nearly locked down a playoff berth for the Storm. However, with the loss, there is far more uncertainty.
Seattle fell back into the eighth seed, with Indiana (21-19) holding the head-to-head tiebreaker and the Golden State Valkyries (21-18) moving up into sixth by a half-game. The Storm are still 1.5 games ahead of Los Angeles, but Seattle has just two more games left to play. The Sparks have five.
If the Storm drop even one more game against the New York Liberty (24-16) or Golden State in their final two contests, they are seriously at risk of losing the eighth seed to the Sparks. Neither of those games will be easy for Seattle, and Los Angeles will hold the head-to-head tiebreaker if it comes down to it after winning the season series 3-1.
This was a critical game for the Storm. Now, they have to handle their business and hope other teams don’t start resting starters while the Sparks make a late-season push.
Up Next
Seattle will get its first break of more than two days since Aug. 22 in hopes of a reset. The Liberty come to Climate Pledge Arena for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Friday, Sept. 5.
The Storm’s final game of the season will be another home contest against the Valkyries at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9.
