Dream’s six-game win streak ends in tight loss to Storm

Facing a 12-point deficit, Brionna Jones powered the Dream’s rally, scoring six of the team’s 10 unanswered points to slice the deficit to 67-63.

After Allisha Gray buried a pull-up jumper, Nia Coffey sank two free throws to pull the Dream even at 67.

The Storm (17-17) finally broke through when Skylar Diggins drained a clutch jumper at the 5:15 mark.

The teams traded blows from there, knotted at 71, until Brittney Griner rolled free for a clean finish at the rim and Rhyne Howard drew a 3-shot foul on Brittney Sykes.

Howard converted all three free throws, lifting the Dream to a 76-71 lead.

“We (Dream) were down double figures going into the fourth quarter … we felt like we hadn’t played a great quarter (of) defense yet,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said. “That fourth quarter, (we) got a lot of energy, (it) led to things for us. … We got the lead.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to close it out. There’s some broken plays that didn’t go our way, but we don’t want to leave it to those plays. … They just got too many great offensive weapons (for us) to make as many defensive mistakes. Every time we made a mistake, they made us pay. That’s what happens when you have great players.”

But the Storm refused to fold. Diggins answered with three free throws of her own, then Ezi Magbegor swatted away a shot, sparking a fast break that Nneka Ogwumike capped with a layup to tie it at 76.

With the Dream pressing to regain control, Gabby Williams jumped a passing lane, stole the ball from Gray and found a streaking Sykes for a layup that swung momentum back to Seattle, 79-76.

Seattle, the league leader in steals at 8.5 per game, hounded the Dream all night, finishing with seven. Williams sparked the defensive surge with a timely steal while Magbegor and Sykes added two apiece, fueling the kind of pressure Smesko said makes the Storm so hard to score against.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

“They (Storm) have a lot of pressure,” Smesko said. “They have a lot of great defenders. Adding Brittney (Sykes) is another great defender. You really have to work to get open. … If you are just a little careless one time, they’re going to make a play on it. … They’re going for steals, they’re shooting passing lanes. They’re going to play really physical and try to knock you off your line and hope you turn it over.”

Howard sank two free throws to pull the Dream within one, 79-78, and then denied Diggins at the rim with a block that gave the Dream possession after review. But Howard’s drive on the next trip was altered by Magbegor’s defense. The Storm forward later split a pair at the line to make it 80-78. The Dream had one last chance, but Howard missed a contested bank shot against Sykes, sealing Seattle’s win.

Seattle got balanced scoring from five players in double figures. Diggins recorded her third double-double of the season with 21 points and 11 assists. Ogwumike added 16 points and eight rebounds, Sykes contributed 13 points, rookie Dominique Malonga scored 12 off the bench and Williams chipped in 11.

Howard paced the Dream with 21 points. Jones recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Gray was held to 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting and added five boards. Griner chipped in 10 points and three rebounds.

The Dream came out swinging in the third, trimming the gap to 42-41 when Naz Hillmon muscled in a tough layup over Magbegor. But Seattle responded with a 10-0 run, turning defense into fast break points and capping it with Sykes’ triple to push the lead to 52-41. Seattle stretched the margin to 15 when she fired a full-court strike to a streaking Ogwumike for an easy finish.

The Dream refused to fold. Jones slipped inside for a late layup, cutting the deficit back to single digits, but Seattle carried a 67-55 advantage after a Diggins’ triple at the buzzer to end the frame.

Hillmon ripped down an offensive rebound and powered in a putback, giving the Dream their first lead at 24-23.

That spark didn’t last.

Seattle clamped down and roared back with a 12-2 burst, capitalizing on Dream turnovers and riding the energy of Sykes and Malonga, who kissed in a bank shot off Diggins’ assist.

The Storm kept the lead in double digits for most of the frame, keeping the Dream at arm’s length. That’s until Gray shifted the momentum, threading a pass to a rolling Jones for a layup and following it with a strong layup to cut the deficit to 5. Still, Seattle had the final word of the half, heading to the locker room up 40-34.

Seattle stormed ahead early, grabbing a 14-10 lead behind Ogwumike with 8 points. The Dream fell behind by as many as 6 late in the first but Howard kept the Dream close, selling a ball fake before burying a 3-pointer. The Storm held a slim 21-20 edge after the opening quarter.

The Dream return to action Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET when they face the Golden State Valkyries.