Storm rally falls short, Seattle tumbles against unbeaten Lynx

The Seattle Storm nearly erased a 15-point first-half deficit and pulled to within three points in the final seconds, but their comeback against the Minnesota Lynx came up short during an 82-77 defeat Tuesday night.

Gabby Williams led Seattle with 20 points, four rebounds, five assists and two block while Skylar Diggins tallied 18 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals to offset five turnovers.

Nneka Ogwumike added 11 points on 5-for-14 shooting and backup guard Erica Wheeler chipped in 10 for the Storm (3-2) who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

Not a whole lot went right for the Storm in the first half.

Three early turnovers ignited a 14-0 run for the Lynx who led 14-2 after 3½ minutes and were ahead 26-11 when the first quarter ended.

Minnesota maintained its 15-point lead midway in the second quarter (36-21) before Diggins drained a three-pointer to spark an 8-0 spurt that cut the Storm’s deficit to 36-29 with 1:24 left.

However, Alana Smith capped the first half with a three-pointer that put the Lynx (4-0) up 39-29 at the break.

Seattle outscored Minnesota 22-15 in the third quarter while closing to 48-47 and starting the fourth trailing 54-51.

Ogwumike drained a layup that pulled the Storm to 64-62 with less than five minutes left and Diggins canned a jumper that cut the Storm’s deficit to 76-73 with 27.7 seconds left.

The Lynx sank six straight free throws to remain perfect at 5-0.

Courtney Williams scored a game-high 23 points while Napheesa Collier and Smith each had 16 and Kayla McBride added 15 in her first game of the season for Minnesota.

The Storm return for a three-game homestand starting with Friday’s game against the Atlanta Dream.