Instant Takeaways: Storm’s Heroic Comeback Forces Game 3, Snaps Aces’ 17-Game Win Streak
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2047"]
Fueled by a huge fourth quarter from Dominique Malonga, Skylar Diggins and Erica Wheeler, the Seattle Storm erased a double-digit deficit in an 86-83 win over the Las Vegas Aces in Game 2 of the opening round of the playoffs. Credit: John Mac [/caption]
Rookie No. 2 overall pick Dominique Malonga’s and-one and ensuing free throw with 31 seconds remaining gave the Seattle Storm their first lead since the second quarter, catapulting them to an 86-83 win over the Las Vegas Aces to force a Game 3 in the first round of the WNBA Playoffs on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at Climate Pledge Arena.
Malonga, who finished with 11 points, set up a game-sealing pull-up jumpshot by Skylar Diggins with just 4.2 seconds remaining after the Aces threw the ball away on their previous possession. Las Vegas had one more chance to send the game to overtime, but Chelsea Gray’s triple missed.
After losing by 25 points in Game 1, Seattle erased a 14-point third-quarter deficit and snapped the Aces’ 17-game winning streak that dated back to Aug. 3.
DOM AND-1 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/kTvatQIVfS— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) September 17, 2025
The Storm, after looking like their fate was sealed in 2025, closed out the game on a 16-4 fourth-quarter run to extend their season.
Here’s what we learned from a thrilling, season-saving Storm playoff win on Tuesday.
Neck-and-neck first half
Nneka Ogwumike had just 11 points in Game 1. She had 11 of the Storm’s first 13 points in the opening quarter of Game 2 alone.
Still, Las Vegas had an eight-point advantage — its largest of the game to that point — with just 1:20 remaining in the first half. Then Ezi Magbegor made a layup, Diggins stole the ensuing inbounds pass, knocked down a triple and stayed aggressive to get two more free throws before halftime. The Aces led 45-44 at the break.
The Storm poured in those seven points in just 24 seconds, putting forth a critical surge to enter the locker room with all the momentum despite still trailing by one.
Diggins came alive in the second quarter after going scoreless in the opening period. She scored 16 points in the quarter with three triples, while the Storm scored 23 as a team. Seattle’s top two stars stepped up, as they are expected to do when the team is facing elimination.
Even though the Aces had an extremely balanced offensive approach, A’ja Wilson unsurprisingly dominated with 16 first-half points. For the second straight game, Seattle did all it could to slow down the three-time WNBA MVP.
Backs against the wall
Seattle had everything working against it. The Aces were red-hot in the third quarter, and the Storm’s stars couldn’t generate consistent offense across quarters.
The Storm entered the game 10-12 at home this season and were facing a double-digit deficit against the league’s hottest team — inspiring little confidence that a comeback was coming.
Focus has been an issue for this Seattle team, either giving up late comebacks or allowing small mistakes to spiral into a close game getting away from them. Even when it looked bleak, however, the Storm stayed locked in on each possession.
There have been games this season where the Storm’s stars don’t show up when they need them most. However, when there was potentially only 10 minutes left in their season, those players left it all on the court.
An immaculate comeback
The third quarter was a perfect example of when shooting at a high volume doesn’t always translate to more points. Seattle shot 6 of 21 from the field (28.6 percent) in the period, while Las Vegas knocked down 6 of 13 attempts (46.2 percent). That efficiency allowed the Aces to build up a 14-point lead, but the Storm trimmed it to eight by the end of the period.
That was even with Ogwumike having her second 11-point quarter of the game. Diggins went cold after her red-hot second quarter, scoring just one in the third.
Aside from the occasional Malonga bucket, the Storm struggled to find a consistent third scoring option — at least until the fourth quarter.
Seattle flipped the script in the fourth quarter. The Storm shot 10 for 17 from the field (58.8 percent) in the final period, while the Aces converted just 4 of 13 attempts (30.8 percent).
Erica Wheeler scored her first points of the game on a 3-pointer with just under six minutes remaining. She scored eight more points from there, helping fuel the game-winning run and once again proving herself as one of the Storm’s most clutch players.
It wasn’t until Wheeler got going that the Storm seemed to come alive. Wheeler, Diggins and Malonga scored all of Seattle’s points in the final period. Diggins also poured in 11 points in the fourth, helping the Storm keep pace early in the quarter before closing it out at the end.
DIGGINS DAGGER 🗡️ pic.twitter.com/0TX5vKFOfJ— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) September 17, 2025
The numbers
Malonga’s contributions weren’t all on offense, either, as she helped hold Wilson to just five points in the second half. She tied Magbegor for minutes with 23, but her impact was felt at least twice as much when considering the other side of the ball. The rookie, in her second-ever playoff game, finished with a double-double (10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks).
Diggins totaled a team-high 26 points, seven assists and two steals. Ogwumike finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Jackie Young led the Aces with 25 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Wilson had 13 rebounds, five assists, one steal and two blocks in addition to her 21 points.
Las Vegas outpaced Seattle in free throws by 17, but converted just 69 percent of their 29 attempts. That could be the single-most back-breaking stat for the Aces when they go back and review the game.
Up Next
The Storm go back to Las Vegas for a winner-take-all Game 3. Seattle will be riding a high from their impressive comeback, but the Aces will undeniably have an advantage back on their home court, where they are 18-5 this season.
Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18.
