The Dallas Wings (11-6) delivered another thrilling finish on Monday with a 112-110 overtime win over the Seattle Storm (3-15) at Climate Pledge Arena.
For the second straight game, the Wings kept it entertaining as Dallas pulled another improbable win out of their hat with Paige Bueckers leading the magic show. She scored when Dallas needed her most, late in the game. Azzi Fudd recorded a new career-high scoring mark in the win as the duo combined for 53 points on 23-of-40 shooting.
The back-to-back
number one overall selections play led Dallas to victory in spite of long stretches of poor play in the middle two quarters.
With Dallas leading 36-23, Seattle stormed back late in the second quarter with a 14-0 run. From there, Seattle and Dallas battled in the final minutes of the first half. Dominique Malonga hit a 3-pointer to give the Storm a 42-40 lead over the Wings at halftime.
The Storm were the better team again for much of the third, gaining a 52-44 lead after back-to-back 3-pointers late in the frame. Dallas fought back with a scoring flurry from Li Yueru, who finished the game with 10 points off the bench, and entered the fourth quarter with a 67-66 lead.
The fourth was a see-saw, back-and-forth battle. Dominique Malonga and rookie Awa Fam got the better of Dallas in the pick-and-roll game, and Natisha Heideman was lethal driving to the left, but Bueckers scored eight points in the final 1:12 of the game to pull the Wings back from a 94-88 hole and force overtime.
Bueckers takes over late
When Dallas needed her most, Bueckers responded to each big Seattle basket down the stretch of the fourth quarter and overtime. She scored 17 points in the last 1:12 and overtime. Her final pull-up jumper put her over 1,000 career points and gave Dallas a 109-108 lead with 30 seconds left in the overtime period.
Bueckers found Fudd the next time down, after Malonga got past Yueru for a driving bucket that gave her 37 points in the game. Fudd brought the score to 111-110 with a contested driving score, and Aziaha James split a pair at the free-throw line to make it 112-110.
Bueckers heroics started in the final minute of the fourth quarter. She hit back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 94-94 with 39 seconds left in the game.
After Seattle took the lead, Bueckers kept scoring. She hit a turnaround jumper to tie the game at 96-96 with five seconds remaining in the game.
In overtime, Bueckers hit a jumper to gain a 102-100 lead. Then, she hit another jumper with the ball bouncing off the glass to gain a 104-103 lead.
While Bueckers kept scoring when Dallas needed her, she also made key defensive stops near the end. After Fudd turned over the ball late in the fourth quarter, Bueckers played solid defense to keep Seattle from scoring. Then, Bueckers forced a Seattle turnover that led to Aziaha James shooting free throws, bringing the score to 112-110.
Bueckers will be remembered for her play in the fourth quarter, but she also played well in the first quarter when Dallas was struggling.
Bueckers tied the game at 6-6 with a layup that started on the opposite end of the court with her rebound. On the next possession, she drove to the basket for another layup. Bueckers third straight layup came off a pass from Jessica Shepard.
After building a 10-9 lead for Dallas, Bueckers began getting her teammates involved. She passed the ball through two Seattle defenders to a cutting Awak Kuier, who made the score 12-9 with a layup.
Seattle responded to a timeout, but the offense was ready after being woken up by Bueckers. Dallas ended the first quarter with a 26-19 lead. Bueckers finished the first quarter with two assists and eight points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field.
She finished the game with 27 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from the 3-point line.
Fudd around, find out
Azzi Fudd scored a career-high 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 from the 3-point line in the win. Her final score gave Dallas a 111-110 lead.
Fudd displayed her scoring abilities while also showcasing her defense. In the fourth quarter, Fudd stole the ball and drove down the floor for a quick layup, bringing the score to 82-76. The rookie sensation finished with four steals and has now recorded 10 steals in her last three games.
She played a critical part in the third quarter as Seattle tried to extend its lead in the third quarter. Fudd kept Dallas in the game with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 shooting from the 3-point line.
Because of her scoring, Dallas ended the third quarter leading 67-66.
Just enough defense
The Wings needed every bucket Bueckers could provide them with down the stretch. That’s because the Wings could not stop the Storm offense.
Malonga finished with 37 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the field. Natisha Hiedeman finished with 21 points on 9-of-19 shooting and 11 assists.
Seattle finished the game shooting 51% from the field and 45% from the 3-point line. The Storm entered the game second to last in field goal percentage (41%) and 10th in 3-point shooting (33%).
Teams shooting well from beyond the arc has caused the Wings problems this season. Usually, it leads to Dallas losing the game, but Bueckers’ late heroics prevented that on Monday.
