SEATTLE — It was almost a perfectly twisted full-circle moment.

Down three points with three seconds left in Game 2 of their first-round WNBA playoffs matchup with the Seattle Storm on Tuesday, coach Becky Hammon drew up a play for Jewell Loyd to take the final shot.

But the Aces guard, who spent the first 10 years of her career playing for the crowd that was now rooting against her, watched her game-tying attempt fall just shy. The Storm then started celebrating their 86-83 win as the lights went down at Climate Pledge Arena.

Hammon and Loyd agreed on one thing in their quick and somber postgame comments: The Aces shouldn’t have been in that position.

They led by 14 points in the third quarter, but were outscored 25-14 in the final frame and held to just four points over the closing f

See Full Page