Brittney Sykes scores 27 points, but Seattle Storm can’t end skid

The Storm brought in All-Star guard Brittney Sykes to be the team’s knight in shining armor, and, boy, did she try her best Sunday night.

Seattle fell 94-91 to the Los Angeles Sparks in front of a crowd of 11,796 at Crypto.com Arena, marking its fifth consecutive loss.

Sykes was acquired by the Storm on Tuesday via a trade with the Washington Mystics, in light of the Seattle’s recent slump.

The Storm went on a 12-2 run in the fourth quarter — eight of those from Sykes — for a comfortable 87-80 lead with less than three minutes remaining.

The Sparks, however, responded aggressively with an 11-2 run, taking a 91-89 lead with 17 seconds on the clock.

Sykes, who finished with a game-high 27 points, did what she was acquired to do, knotting the game with a layup in the final 12 seconds, but Dearica Hamby’s driving basket and free throw with 5.6 seconds left gave the Sparks the win.

The Storm (16-16) haven’t dropped five straight since a 10-game losing streak in 2023. They were in fourth place just over two weeks ago (15-10), prior to playing the Mystics to a loss on July 26, at looking to secure a home series in the first round of the playoffs.

Now, Seattle and the Golden State Valkyries (15-15) are tied for the final two postseason spots, just a half-game ahead of ninth-place Los Angeles (15-16). The Mystics (14-17) are 1.5 games back in 10th place.

The Storm came to the Sparks’ court with a bitter taste in their mouths, following a 108-106 double-overtime loss to Los Angeles on August 1, a game that ignited the current losing streak.

Trailing 5-4 early, Seattle held the Sparks scoreless for over six minutes during which the Storm went on a 17-0 run. The quarter ended 26-14 after a late response from the Sparks in the final minute.

The Sparks halted the Storm’s momentum, knotting the score 29-29 less than four minutes into the second quarter with a 15-3 push.

Los Angeles took its first lead since the game’s fourth minute with Kelsey Plum’s three-pointer, 34-31, with 4:36 left in the half.

The Sparks were draining practically everything, 18-for-31 (58.1%) from the field and 8-for-14 from beyond the arc by the end of the half.

The Storm had a late surge of energy in the second quarter, highlighted by Sykes. Seattle went on an 8-0 run in the final minute of the half, including Sykes’ 25-foot three-point jumper at the buzzer, to nearly diminish its deficit, 46-45.

It was the Dominique Malonga show in the third quarter. The 19-year-old reserve center, who was drafted No. 2 overall this year, scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting to keep Seattle close with the Sparks.

All-Star guard Skylar Diggins, who was held scoreless on Friday for the first time this season, added seven points and four assists in the third quarter.

Sykes had another buzzer beater to give the Storm the lead, 69-68, heading into the final period.

Malonga ended with 20 points and 11 rebounds, her second consecutive double-double and third-career.

Diggins added 17 points and six assists.

Sykes drew her first start with Seattle, following Tuesday’s trade. She debuted off the bench Friday against the Las Vegas Aces. She replaced Erica Wheeler in the starting lineup, placing Wheeler on the bench for the first time in 23 consecutive games, since June 7.

The Storm return home to face the third place Atlanta Dream (19-11) on Wednesday, having split the first two meetings this season.