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Storm-Shock Preview

Aug 3, 2010 - 3:21 PM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Seattle (22-3) at Tulsa (4-22), 8:00 p.m. EDT

It's been more than a month since the Seattle Storm have had to bounce back from a loss. Facing the woeful Tulsa Shock should make that task even easier.

The league-leading Storm, who may also have some concerns about the health of leading scorer Lauren Jackson, visit the WNBA-worst Shock on Tuesday night.

Seattle (22-3) had its 13-game winning streak snapped with a 72-71 loss at Minnesota on Sunday. While the Storm have already clinched the top spot in the Western Conference, they were trying to move closer to breaking the league record for the best start set by the 1998 Houston Comets, who opened 25-2 and finished 27-3.

After taking an early lead Sunday, Seattle trailed by 11 with 4:23 remaining in the fourth quarter and couldn't complete a late rally. Sue Bird scored 16 points while Jackson, second in the league with 21.5 points per game, finished with a season-low 12 after struggling with a sprained left thumb she suffered earlier.

"Tonight showed us some things that we need to work on and we are just like every other team, a work in progress getting ready for the playoffs and that is how we are going to approach this and move onto Tulsa," said Jackson, who left the game in the second quarter before returning with a taped-up thumb midway through the third.

Jackson and the Storm look to bounce back against Tulsa (4-22), which they've beaten twice this season.

While Jackson may have some lingering issues with her thumb, the Shock have struggled to stop anyone in their first season in Tulsa. They've lost seven straight and 19 of 20, falling 87-62 at Washington on Sunday.

Tulsa fell behind 25-9 in the first quarter and never threatened, shooting 33.8 percent. Tiffany Jackson scored 14 points and added seven rebounds - the only Shock player to score in double figures.

"I think we wanted to perform as hard as (we could)," coach Nolan Richardson said. "That's the makeup of the group. But at the same time I think Washington performed because of what they had to do."

Richardson's club is looking to snap a nine-game home losing streak, and it has allowed the last three visitors to average 109.7 points.

These teams close their season series Saturday in Seattle.