WNBA playoff picture: Standings, schedule as Storm complete huge comeback to beat league-leading Lynx

Less than two weeks remain in the WNBA regular season and the playoff push has produced some thrilling action. Each team has eight or fewer games remaining and only two teams -- the Minnesota Lynx and Las Vegas Aces -- have officially clinched a playoff spot. While the Lynx are the clear favorite for the No. 1 seed, no team is locked into a spot. 

On Thursday, the Seattle Storm stunned the Lynx with a 21-point comeback to earn one of their biggest wins of the season and climb back into seventh place. Meanwhile, the New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury each won to keep pace in the hectic battle for the No. 2 seed.

The action will continue Friday with two more games, both of which have playoff implications:

• Dallas Wings at Atlanta Dream, 7:30 p.m. ET -- ION
• Indiana Fever at Los Angeles Sparks, 10 p.m. ET -- ION

As a reminder, the top eight teams make the playoffs, regardless of conference. From there, they are placed into a standard eight-team bracket. The first round of the playoffs is a best-of-three, while the semifinals are a best-of-five and the Finals, as of this season, are a best-of-seven. 

The regular season will conclude on Sept. 11 and the playoffs begin on Sept. 14. The last possible Finals date is Oct. 19. 

Standings

1. Minnesota Lynx (30-8) -- Clinched playoff berth
2. Las Vegas Aces (26-14) -- Clinched playoff berth
3. Atlanta Dream (24-14) 
4. Phoenix Mercury (24-14)
5. New York Liberty (24-15)
6. Indiana Fever (20-18)
7. Seattle Storm (21-19)
8. Golden State Valkyries (19-18)
9. Los Angeles Sparks (17-19)
10. Washington Mystics (16-23)
11. Connecticut Sun (10-28) -- Eliminated from playoff contention
12. Chicago Sky (9-29) -- Eliminated from playoff contention
13. Dallas Wings (9-30) -- Eliminated from playoff contention

Note: Two-team ties are decided first by head-to-head record and then, if necessary, by better record against .500+ teams. Ties between more than two teams are determined by the combined head-to-head record against the other teams. 

Lynx running away with No. 1 seed

• 1. Minnesota Lynx (30-8)

The Lynx built a 21-point lead on the Storm on Thursday and seemed to be cruising to a victory that would have officially given them the No. 1 seed. Instead, they collapsed in the second half and had to watch Skylar Diggins troll them with the electric slide afterward. Still, the Lynx have a five-game lead on the Aces for the top spot. 

Aces beat Dream to take control of second place

• 2. Las Vegas Aces (26-14)
• 3. Atlanta Dream (24-14)
• 4. Phoenix Mercury (24-14)
• 5. New York Liberty (24-15)

The Aces continued their incredible hot streak Wednesday by beating the Dream in Atlanta to win their 12th consecutive game and take control of second place. Both the Mercury and Liberty gained some slight ground with victories on Thursday. Just 1½ games separate these four teams. 

Are the Aces serious title contenders? Reasons for optimism, pessimism amid Las Vegas' 12-game win streak

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Mystics fading as four teams battle for final three spots

• 6. Indiana Fever (20-18)
• 7. Seattle Storm (21-19)
• 8. Golden State Valkyries (19-18)
• 9. Los Angeles Sparks (17-19)
• 10. Washington Mystics (16-23)

The bottom half of the playoff picture has tightened, and there are now just two games separating the Fever in sixth from the Sparks in ninth. The Fever picked up a huge win Tuesday when they crushed the Storm to vault back into sixth, but the Storm responded with one of their best performances of the season on Thursday. They beat the Lynx to jump back into seventh and send the Valkyries down into eighth. Friday night's matchup between the Fever and Sparks is crucial. 

The Mystics were right in the mix a week ago, but have now lost five games in a row to fall 4½ games behind the eighth-place Valkyries. That's too big of a gap for them to make up at this point and they will soon be confirmed as a lottery participant. 

Lottery bound

• 11. Connecticut Sun (10-28)
• 12. Chicago Sky (9-29)
• 13. Dallas Wings (9-30)

This season has been a disaster for all three of these teams. The Sky have been beset by injuries, the Wings' offseason moves didn't pan out and the Sun were never going to be good after their offseason departures. All of them are now officially lottery bound, but only the Wings control their own pick. 

The Sky owe their first to the Lynx, while the Sun owe the Sky swap rights to their first rounder. The Sky also own Mercury's first rounder, so the Sky will get the more favorable of the Sun/Mercury picks, while the Sun will get the least favorable of those selections.