The Guru’s WNBA Roundup: L.A. Rallies to Stay Off the Playoff Cliff and Beat Seattle; Minnesota and Atlanta Get Lopsided Wins

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

In the penultimate nightcap of the WNBA’s Labor Day triple-header Monday in a must win game for both teams in the 5-for-4 chase for the remaining playoff berths a delighted home crowd of 12,500 at Climate Pledge Arena saw then-sixth place Seattle build a 17-point lead in the third quarter on ninth-place Los Angeles only to become a disappointed crowd as the visiting Sparks (19-20) torched the home team by moving away from the edge of the elimination cliff out-storming the Storm (22-20) with an 11-0 finish to prevail 91-85 and move within 1.5 games of the eighth-place cutoff.

The defending champion New York Liberty (24-16), in fifth place with a magic number of 1 to join the four above them already holding postseason tickets, are getting no help from their friends because a Seattle win would have enabled the champs to back into a guaranteed chance to stay alive in defense of their crown after the record 44-game regular season concludes a week from Thursday on Sept. 11.

The Liberty can help themselves in one of two games, both at 10 p.m., Tuesday night, but it won’t be easy when they visit Golden State (21-18) in San Francisco.

While the Liberty are 3-0 in the series with the expansion Valkyries, after a lopsided 95-67 triumph back East at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on May 27, two nights later it went down to the wire with an 82-77 outcome at a time New York had started the season on a franchise-record 9-0 start before injuries affected the loftier height in the standings.

It was close again on June 27 winning 81-78 at the Chase Center where Golden State has set a record in the arena it shares with the NBA Warriors by selling out all 18,064 seats every home appearance.

The Valkyries have also set a record for wins in an expansion season and now sit holding a magic number of two for the ultimate prize to be the first new team to make the playoffs.

Tuesday night’s other game involves fourth place Phoenix (25-14) hosting seventh place Indiana (21-19), which moved up a spot off Seattle’s loss, which dropped the Storm to eighth, though tied statistically with the Fever 11 games out of first.

In Monday’s other two games Minnesota (32-8) came off the road having claimed the regular-season title and home advantage throughout in the best-of-three first round, which has a revised 1-1-1 format, the best-of-five semifinals, and the two-game increase to a record best-of-seven finals.

The Lynx kept humming with an 96-71 victory beating last place and injury riddled Dallas (9-32) before a Target Center crowd of 10,824 in Minneapolis.

Atlanta (26-14) easily won 93-76 at 11th place Connecticut (10-30) before a crowd of 8,081 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville near New London and moved into a second-place tie with idle Las Vegas (26-14), which is on a 12-game win streak, six games behind the Lynx.

Both teams are a half-game in front of Phoenix, which is 1.5 in front of New York.

Second place offers the other home advantage in the semifinals while the next two slots complete the four home-advantages in the first round, which gets underway Sunday, Sept. 14, with all four opening games (ABC/ESPN).

Only two games separate sixth place from tenth place with Atlanta hosting Los Angeles Wednesday and Friday, and Las Vegas resumes play after a break, hosting Minnesota Thursday.

The Aces have not lost since being whipped 111-55 by the Lynx who set a WNBA record at the time for biggest road win.

Phoenix after Tuesday visits Washington (16-25) on Thursday, which with Connecticut, Dallas, and 12th place Chicago (9-30) have all been eliminated and are heading to the draft lottery, offering the prize of overall No. 1 pick next April.

The Mercury also play Connecticut and Dallas, besides hosting Los Angeles, to finish.

New York after Tuesday visits Seattle Friday but next week hosts Washington and visits Chicago to finish so the Liberty will likely land in the field but also in the five slot, meaning a home disadvantage to start, and if advancing, having to likely meet Minnesota in the semifinals instead of the finals where they beat the Lynx 3-2 in series play, winning Game 5 at the end of overtime for the franchise’s first title in its 28-year history dating to the WNBA inaugural summer of 1997.

After Tuesday, Indiana’s last three are hosting Chicago, visiting Washington, and hosting Minnesota.

Golden State after Tuesday hosts Dallas but considering Los Angeles’ schedule, could hold ground playing Minnesota twice and Seattle once.

The Storm just have New York and Golden State left, both at home.

Los Angeles Takes Seattle Series 3-1 With Another Rally

The Sparks have been good walking the tightrope in playoff pursuit, but it will get even more daunting later this week twice going to Atlanta, which is chasing second place for home advantage through the semifinals or at worst third to dodge Minnesota.

It all seemed to be academic at the outset of the third period when Seattle’s Skylar Diggins made a shot from distance for a 17-point lead before Los Angeles began making shots.

Still, it looked relatively safe for the Storm up 85-80 with 2:47 left in regulation but the Sparks continued to attack, and Seattle totally cooled off going 0-5 down the stretch while Dearica Hamby and Rickea Jackson combined for 9 of 11 in Los Angeles’ 11-0 finish to take the series 3-1 for a potential tiebreaker if needed.

The Sparks’ last visit at the beginning of last month resulted in a 108-106 loss for Seattle at the finish in double overtime in a game that had 14 ties and 12 lead changes.

The setback became the start of a six-game slide, five by four points or less, that took Seattle from the upper group in the standings to compete in a crowd just to make the postseason.

The Storm may survive off comparing remaining schedules and if it means playing Minnesota in Round 1, Seattle can hang its hat over two victories in the series, including last week giving the Lynx one of their only two home losses, that came in a 21-point comeback.

In this one, Los Angeles’ Hamby scored 27 with 11 rebounds, while Jackson scored 23.

The Sparks dominated the boards 37-23 and a whomping doubling 60-30 scoring advantage inside the paint.

“We were just confident the whole game even though we were down at a certain point,” Hamby said. “Coach is always just super positive, and they always manifest things for us. She's just a big believer, and with 7 minutes left, we talked about it.

“I was like, so, ‘if we stay at what we're doing, they're gonna fold,’ and we had the confidence going into the last three or four minutes.”

Kelsey Plum added 14 points and Rae Burrell scored 11.

“Rickea has been tremendous closing games out,” said Sparks first year coach Lynne Roberts. “We just have so much confidence in her. Dearica, Kelsey, they kept us close. Rickea’s a winner and can just make plays down the stretch.

“She's done it for us all season. I think she's just competitive as hell. Nobody can guard her. She's got, obviously, talent, right? There's talent across the league, but she doesn't fear the moment. It's one thing to be able to hit the shot, to get your number called, it's nothing to want it. And I think that's what separates her.”

Seattle’s Nneka Ogwumike scored 21 against her former team, fueled by five 3-pointers in the first half.

Diggins scored 21 and Ezi Magbegor scored 11.

“There were obviously some lapses, just in focus, there were different types of plays that didn’t end the way we wanted to,” Ogwumike said of the collapse. “I don’t think we played, I guess, with the amount of discipline and energy we did to start the game and so they ended up finishing better than when they started and we weren’t able to match that.

“Teams are fighting for their lives. Teams are fighting for home court advantage and spots in the playoffs, so you have to be able to digest things and move forward and see how you can get the next win,” she continued.

“We did a good job of that the last couple of of weeks. But there are only two games left, so there's no option for both of them. So, there's get some rest tomorrow, and then there’s New York next.”

“I think we relaxed, and we could have done better with what was working,” Diggins said.

In the first half, Seattle took charge with a 10-0 run in the first quarter and dominated the next for a 53-39 lead at the break.

As for what’s ahead, Roberts said, “It's one at a time. It's been one at a time the whole season. So, we got Atlanta and then Atlanta, but we're focused on Game 1 with them.

“We haven't played them in a long time. I was watching the film today, and we're a totally different team... not only how we play, but whose healthy now, right?” She continued.

“We ddidn’t have Rae. We didn’t have Cameron (Brink). We didn’t have Rickea at that game. This isn’t even the same group. (Atlanta’s) very good, but we just got a one-game season right now.”

Atlanta Handles Connecticut to Tie for Second With Las Vegas

The Dream cruised in this one heading into the two-night hosting of Los Angeles just ahead Wednesday and Friday.

Rhyne Howard led Atlanta with 23 points while Naz Hillmon and Allisha Gray each scored 17 as the visitors stopped any effort for the Sun to rally, closing with a 17-2 run after holding a slim 76-74 lead with 5:07 left.

Reserve Jordin Canada scored 15 while Brionna Jones had a double-double 10 points and 11 rebounds.

“A really good competitive game today,” said Atlanta first year coach Karl Smesko. “Connecticut's playing some really good basketball right now. I think they're playing their best basketball of the year.

“It's good for us to have that kind of environment going into the playoffs. We needed a really good fourth quarter to come out of here with a win. I thought that that that was our best quarter in the fourth, and we feel good to be leaving here with a win.

“Connecticut really shot the ball well in the first half. Every time we messed up, they scored. They shot 60 percent in the first half. Having to have situations where you have to respond, helps the team.

“We had a lot of people play well. It was good to have (Canada) back. I wasn’t intending to play her as much as we did, she said she felt good, she was playing well, so we just rolled with her. Before she got hurt, she was playing at All-Star level. The second half, she was outstanding.”

The Dream are in the playoffs the third straight season but last gained a win in 2018.

The Sun’s Tina Charles scored 22 with eight boards, while rookie Leila Lacan scored 17, Marina Mabrey scored 12 and rookie Saniya Rivers collected 10 points.

The Sun visit Chicago Wednesday, host Phoenix Saturday and then see Atlanta twice again next week on a home and home that will start in Georgia.

Collier and Hiedeman Lead Minnesota Over Dallas

Reigning Defensive Player of the Year and MVP candidate Napheesa Collier scored 25 for the first-place Lynx while Natisha Hiedeman scored 20 points with a personal best 10 assists for her first double-double in the win over the Wings.

Courtney Williams added 15 points with nine assists and Bridget Carleton scored 12.

Collier was perfect from long range shooting 4-for-4.

“Efficient, that’s what she does,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve, the former La Salle star from South Jersey, said of Collier. “I felt we had her in good spaces. We want to make sure she’s getting threes up. She was locked in when the defense was over helping on her, cashed in on those and just other ‘Phee like things, that’s what she does.”

Dallas, missing a slew of players with injuries, got 17 points from overall No.1 pick Paige Bueckers, who was making her second homecoming trip to her native Minneapolis area, while Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist, the third overall pick of the 2023 draft, Amy Onkonkwo, and Diamond Miller each scored 12.

Of Buecker’s season, Reeve said, “l told Carleton, who was going to be matched with her, she’s very much improved since the last time we saw her, how she gets her scoring attempts and how much the team needs her to take shots.

“It’s almost like ‘Phee in 2023, when we were like ‘you’re going to have to take 20 shots. You’re going to have to figure how to get them off.’

“And I think Paige has gotten really shifty, getting defenders up, and getting to her sweet spot. So, she’s picked up the league pretty quickly and she was a tough cover.”

The Wings were competitive in the first half tied near the end until the Lynx moved to a 48-41 lead at the break.

Minnesota dominated the fourth quarter 25-12 before heading to a three-game road trip beginning at Las Vegas Thursday the same night Dallas is at Golden State.