Mystics-Storm Game 1 lives up to the billing as Washington falls short originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The intensity is what the Washington Mystics expected. They knew their opponent – the four-time WNBA champion Seattle Storm – was going to pressure every possession, contest every shot, and play physical. Stealing a win in Seattle was going to take precision and matching the opposition in each of those categories.
That’s why when Natasha Cloud had a careless turnover with 25 seconds to go in a one-point game it felt like the air had been let out of the balloon. Nearly everything had gone right to put the Mystics in position to snag a crucial win on the road. In crunch time there was nothing anyone could do as the ball dribbled slowly out of bounds.
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It was Washington’s last chance at a go-ahead basket in an 86-83 Game 1 loss at Climate Pledge Arena. It puts Washington in a must-win situation for the remainder of the series.
“Both teams are so evenly matched if you look at the numbers,” Elena Delle Donne said postgame. “It's probably like something you've never seen in history, and (coming into the series) we spoke about whoever does the little things is going to win the series. And the little things will turn into the big things and I think down the stretch we had some key rebounds that we missed. There are times we didn't get the ball where it needed to be or, just, were careless with the ball at times.”
Both teams played to the moment, delivering a memorable first act of what many expect to be an all-time series. It's a highly sought-after bout given the teams’ respective dominance in 2018 and 2019 that never quite saw the rematch of the 2018 WNBA Finals.
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The crowd was raucous, as it always is in Seattle. Both MVPs, Delle Donne and Breanna Stewart, played like MVPs are expected to in the playoffs. The supporting casts of Tina Charles, Ariel Atkins, Natasha Cloud and Jewell Loyd all put together strong performances that, in a vacuum, should be enough to carry your team to victory.
But as Delle Donne said, it came down to the little things on Thursday night. In a game where everyone is playing high-level basketball - Delle Donne is dropping 26 points and five assists, Atkins and Cloud had 16 points each - each opportunity cannot be wasted against a championship-caliber opponent. It wasn’t one little thing that lost them the game, but mistakes down the stretch get magnified.
“If I was a younger player, I would be hanging my head a lot more,” Cloud said of her late-game turnover. “But the reality is that one turnover didn't decide the game. We made mistakes before that, but I do need to take care of the ball down the stretch. That's my job is to put us in successful situations, so it's a tough one.”
For much of the first half, Delle Donne was a part of the supporting cast to Atkins' explosion (13 points in the opening 20 minutes). Four points with 1:22 left to go before the break isn’t what anyone expected from the former two-time MVP making her first playoff appearance since the 2019 WNBA Finals.
But at that point the Mystics varied their attack, allowing Delle Donne to play in a flowing offense where she thrives. From there, she finished with 22 points in the final 22 minutes of game time.
The takeover nature and stat line are impressive, scoring all 26 points without a single 3-pointer (11-for-17 FG). There were points in the second half where you almost forgot she had missed the past two seasons due to multiple back procedures and had to miss games this year for rest purposes.
When she’s going off like that, Seattle coach Noelle Quinn only knows of one thing to do.
“You pray. ‘Yes, the Lord just blow a wind and make that thing change directions,’” she said postgame. “[Delle Donne's] so sharp and when she does (go off), she's so efficient in what she does. She makes it tough to send a double team because her teammates are able to knock down shots and sometimes you do think about living with just letting Delle Donne go off and making sure you stay attached to the shooters and other playmakers on the floor.”
But in the end, that performance is meaningless. Next game they star back over at zero.
Overall, Washington appeared upbeat despite the defeat. The highly-billed defense that they believe can win a championship kept the Storm in check most of the evening. There were 11 ties and 15 lead changes with neither side leading by more than eight points. The goal was to come into the Pacific Northwest and earn a split of the two games to force a winner-take-all Game 3 back in D.C.
That goal can still be reached. They just need to put all the pieces together one more time.
"I think for majority of the game, we showed that we can win and it's the little things down the stretch that we just need to be more intentional with," Cloud said.
