Storm halt Aces' 17-game win streak, force Game 3

SEATTLE -- The Storm handed the Aces their archetypal nonaccomplishment since Aug. 2, rallying from a 14-point shortage successful the 2nd fractional Tuesday nighttime to triumph Game 2 of their first-round bid 86-83 and unit a deciding Game 3 connected Thursday successful Las Vegas.

The Aces had their winning streak snapped astatine 17 games dating backmost to the past 16 of the regular season, 1 shy of the 2001 Los Angeles Sparks' single-season grounds of 18 consecutive wins.

"This squad hasn't been beaten successful a agelong time," said Storm defender Skylar Diggins. "We felt similar we could due to the fact that we've had occurrence versus them earlier this year. It was astir putting unneurotic archetypal of all, the commencement that we wanted and playing with the benignant of force, physicality. We won the rebounding conflict -- that was a large woody for us. And we benignant of kept their others successful spot who person been playing truly good coming disconnected the bench."

Diggins delivered 1 of the night's biggest shots. With the Storm up 1 successful the last 30 seconds and Las Vegas manager Becky Hammon opting to play retired the last possession connected defence alternatively than fouling intentionally, Diggins utilized the menace of a surface from teammate Nneka Ogwumike to isolate defender Jackie Young. Diggins drove to her beardown near manus and pulled up from conscionable wrong the escaped propulsion enactment to widen Seattle's pb to 3.

"Any clip I'm successful a two-woman crippled with this idiosyncratic close here, I consciousness truly confident," Diggins said, sitting adjacent to Ogwumike connected the podium. "I thought they were going to foul, truthful I conscionable fto Nneka support holding the ball. It was similar a 3- oregon 4-second differential connected the changeable timepiece and crippled clock. They didn't foul and we got into our game. I saw an opening determination and took my chance."

Although the Aces got a bully look for erstwhile Storm defender Jewell Loyd astatine a tying 3 successful the last seconds, it was disconnected and Seattle became the archetypal squad to bushed Las Vegas since Aug. 2, erstwhile the Aces mislaid by 53 points to the Minnesota Lynx.

That nonaccomplishment kickstarted a historical streak for the Aces, who went from a .500 grounds aft their past nonaccomplishment to 30-14 astatine season's end, bully for the No. 2 seed. But present Vegas volition look a winner-take-all Game 3 astatine home, the archetypal clip an Aces bid has gone the region nether Hammon.

Hammon lamented that Las Vegas failed to capitalize connected an accidental to adjacent retired the bid successful a sweep.

"We missed 9 escaped throws," she said. "(Committed) 15 turnovers. Don't execute. Have a turnover disconnected the committee [out of a timeout]. It's a shame. I consciousness similar we fto that 1 go. And our poor, brushed defence down the stretch. Soft."

Despite a stronger commencement by the Storm than Sunday's Game 1, erstwhile they trailed by treble digits aft 1 4th and were ne'er competitory aft halftime successful a 25-point loss, the Aces inactive took power of the crippled successful the 3rd quarter. They took their largest lead, 14, with 2:05 near successful the period. Only the Phoenix Mercury -- against Seattle during the 2018 semifinals -- person rallied from a larger shortage (16) successful the 2nd fractional of an elimination crippled successful the past decade.

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