2 games! That’s all the Aces needed to lock in an all-time consecutive wins record. For a hot second (well, actually two days), it felt almost written in the stars with A’ja Wilson on a heater and Las Vegas chasing history. But the Seattle Storm weren’t about to let their season fade quietly. Their vets, Skylar Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike, flat-out refused to let it end.

The two combined for 50 points on Tuesday night, carrying the Storm to an 86-83 win over the Aces in Seattle. Just like that, Las Vegas’ 17-game win streak (since August 2nd) snapped, and instead of celebrating history, the Aces now have a do-or-die Game 3 staring them down. And how exactly did they pull it off? Well, Diggins had about 30 seconds of pure honesty that summed it all up.

“I mean, nobody’s found the answer to this equation for what, 16, 17 games? But for us, it was coming out and showing we weren’t scared to play against them.” She didn’t stop there. “You could respect a team of that caliber who’s been great…for many years and not fear them. In the first game, we played hesitant. I was proud of the way we responded tonight and we had a great home crowd on our back to feed off.”

Of course, Skylar’s not getting ahead of herself. She knows the job’s not done. “But we know this team is tough to beat one time and we have to beat them again. But we bought ourselves another 40 minutes.”

And you know what makes it even crazier? Seattle was right there with Las Vegas in the first half, trailing just 45-44 at the break. But by late in the third, things looked rough. The Aces stretched the lead to 67-53, and it felt like the Storm were slipping away. Then came the fourth. Down late, Seattle put together the kind of rally that postseason demands.

With 2:35 left, they ripped off a 7-0 run and flipped the script. From staring at elimination to erasing a 14-point hole, the Storm clawed back from 12 down in the fourth to steal it all. The sellout crowd never sat down once during those final minutes, riding every bucket like their season depended on it because it did.

And when the buzzer sounded, Seattle had their second-largest playoff comeback in franchise history, their first postseason win since 2022, and the end of a six-game playoff skid. Of course, none of it happens without everyone chipping in. Diggins owned the closing moments, knocking down a dagger jumper in the final seconds. She finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-for-20 shooting with seven assists, turning it into one of her career-defining performances.

Then there was Ogwumike. After looking quiet with 11 points in Game 1, she came out firing, pouring in 24 points through three quarters and straight-up outdueling A’ja Wilson for stretches. And speaking of Wilson, after dropping 29 in the opener, she looked human this time. Seattle’s frontcourt duo of Ezi Magbegor and rookie Dominique Malonga cut her down to 21, with only five coming in the second half.

“A lot of Dom,” coach Noelle Quinn said when asked how they slowed Wilson. “Being in her space and utilizing her length.” All in all, Seattle needed a miracle, and instead, they created one. The same miracle Jewell Loyd could’ve created for her team. 

Skylar Diggins’ former teammate misses golden chance

The Aces were so close. Sure, we’ve talked about how Seattle pulled it off, but let’s also look at how the Aces missed their chance.

Down three points with three seconds left in Game 2, coach Becky Hammon drew up the perfect play for Jewell Loyd to tie it up. But, you know how it goes sometimes… the shot just didn’t fall. In front of a crowd that’s been cheering for her for a decade, the former Storm player watched her game-tying attempt fall just shy. 

Lights dimmed, the Storm celebrated, and Vegas was left disappointed. Hammon and Loyd didn’t shy away from the tough truth in their postgame comments. “It should have never came down to that,” Hammon said, holding herself and the team accountable. “It falls back on all of us. It wasn’t just one person, and we all got to do better.”

Loyd added, “Regardless of whether we’re playing at the park or if we’re not, we didn’t execute our stuff at a high level tonight on both ends of the floor.” The numbers tell the story, too. Led by Jackie Young, the Aces were outscored 25-14 in the final frame and scored just four points over the closing four minutes. 

“It’s a shame. I feel like we let that one go,” Hammon admitted. And now, everything comes down to Thursday in Las Vegas. Either the Storm keep the momentum rolling, as Skylar Diggins hinted, “Maybe we can start our own streak,” or the Aces will bounce back and reclaim the W. One game, all the pressure, and you know what, maybe this is why we love the playoffs.