Storm close road trip with 77-70 loss to New York Liberty

In the opening minutes, Skylar Diggins-Smith launched a rainbow three-pointer from the corner that splashed through the net for the first points of the game.

It was a promising sign for the Storm, which needed all the offense they could muster to keep pace with the second-highest scoring team in the WNBA, and Diggins-Smith, who didn’t make a three-pointer in the previous three games and was shooting just 16% behind the arc since returning from the Paris Olympic break.

The lefty point guard continued to fire away from long range and connected on four shots from downtown — her most since 2021.

However, Seattle squandered Diggins-Smith’s scintillating three-point shooting display and stumbled in the final minutes, which resulted in a 77-70 loss to the New York Liberty on Thursday at the Barclays Center.

It was one the best games of the season for Diggins-Smith, who finished with 21 points, four rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks.

Gabby Williams chipped in 17 points, four rebounds and five assists while Ezi Magbegor finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

The Storm closed to 68-63 in the final six minutes when Breanna Stewart scored a couple of baskets. Through three quarters, the Liberty star had just four points on 1-for-10 shooting.

But in the fourth, the former Storm star scored 10 points and finished with 14 to improve to 7-0 against her former team.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton had 18 points, Sabrina Ionescu 17 and Jonquel Jones 15 for the WNBA-leading Liberty, which improved to 28-6.

Following a three-game road east coast road trip that included two games against the Connecticut Sun, the Storm (20-14) return home for Saturday’s matchup with the Phoenix Mercury at Climate Pledge Arena.