Seattle Storm unravel during second half in loss to Atlanta Dream

The Storm built a 17-point lead in the third quarter and were seemingly cruising toward a comfortable win against the Atlanta Dream when they lost control of the game and their ability to generate points.

But perhaps more distressing for Seattle, its defense faltered and fell flat in the second half, particularly in the final minutes of a 94-87 loss on Friday night.

After holding the Dream to 34 points in the first half, the Storm gave up 29 points in the third quarter and 31 in the fourth.

Atlanta, won its first game at Climate Pledge Arena, and snapped an eight-game losing streak in Seattle thanks to a high-scoring performances from Rhyne Howard, who had 33 points, and Alisha Gray, who finished with 28.

The Storm led 51-34 early in the third quarter and were outscored 60-36 the rest of the way.

Skylar Diggins finished with 20 points, Nneka Ogwumike had 16 while Gabby Williams and Erica Wheeler each had 14 for Seattle, which fell to 3-3.

Without forward Alysha Clark, who missed her first game of the season due to a left ankle injury, the short-handed Storm jumped on the Dream early and led 21-10 late in the first quarter after backup guard Zia Cooke converted a three-point play.

Midway in the second period, Diggins sank a couple of free throws to push Seattle’s lead to 36-21 and the Storm were up 45-34 at the break.

The Storm had a 17-point lead early in the third and momentum seemed to shift midway in the period when Wheeler picked up a technical foul for arguing a foul on Gray, who converted a four-point play that cut Atlanta’s deficit to 57-48.

The Storm answered with four straight points before the Dream answered with an 11-0 run to pull within 61-59.

Gray gave the Dream a 75-70 lead after canning two of three free throws and draining a three-pointer with 7:28 left.

Down 82-80, the Storm were unable to keep Gray out of the paint, where she drew a foul and hit two free throws to put the Dream up 84-80.

Minutes later, Howard took the life out of the crowd of 9,666 when she drained a mid-range pullup jumper that gave Atlanta a 91-82 lead.

Friday’s game concludes a two-week start to the season for the Storm that shifts slightly over the next 17 days when Seattle plays six straight Commissioner Cup contests.

Next up is Sunday’s 3 p.m. rematch against Las Vegas at Climate Pledge Arena. The Storm throttled the Aces 102-82 last Sunday.