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Sep 4, 2009 - 5:20 PM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Seattle (19-12) at Minnesota (12-18), 8:00 p.m. EDT

The Seattle Storm saw a six-game winning streak end their last time out, but there's still time for the playoff-bound club to make its move toward the Western Conference's top seed.

Time is running out for the Minnesota Lynx.

The Storm can clinch home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason Saturday night in Minnesota, where the Lynx have four games left to salvage something from their disastrous second half.

Seattle (19-12) lost four of five from Aug. 4-15, but won its next six games to put some pressure on Phoenix for the top spot in the West.

The Storm couldn't extend their run Thursday in Washington, losing 78-67 to fall two games behind the Mercury. Still, with a game against Phoenix remaining, there's a chance for Seattle to lock up the top seed if it can win its final three games.

"We are in the playoffs, but we still don't have a specific spot sewed up yet," Seattle coach Brian Agler said. "There is still a chance we can win the conference, but at the same time we want to make sure we have home-court advantage in the first round."

The Storm can do that with a win against Minnesota (12-18), but they'll again be missing leading scorer Lauren Jackson. The six-time All-Star has missed the team's past three games with a stress fracture in her back, and didn't travel with Seattle during the three-game swing that ends at the Target Center.

Sue Bird has stepped up in her absence, averaging 17.7 points, but Bird hasn't played well in her last few games against the Lynx. She's averaged 3.5 points in Seattle's past two contests versus Minnesota, though the Storm have won both times.

They've won three games in all against the Lynx this season by an average of 16.0 points, including an 88-71 win on June 12 in Minneapolis.

Despite losing two games in June to Seattle, Minnesota got off to a 7-3 start and looked like a contender in the West. Since the All-Star break, however, the Lynx have dropped eight of their past nine and 11 of 13.

Minnesota had a chance to pick up a critical win Tuesday in San Antonio in a matchup of teams tied for the conference's fourth and final playoff spot. The Lynx shot just 32.5 percent and fell behind 20-7 after the first quarter, but still took the Silver Stars to double overtime before falling 84-82.

"This was definitely a must-win for us, but we unfortunately got off to a slow start," Minnesota coach Jennifer Gillom said. "I'm really proud of my team for coming out in the second half and really fighting and almost winning."

Candice Wiggins had 19 points and Nicky Anosike had 18 in the loss.