At 21-18 with five games left, the sixth-place Golden State Valkyries are in the driver’s seat, but not by much. The Indiana Fever are nipping at their heels at 21-19, their playoff hopes alive despite being without Caitlin Clark for most of the season. At 22-20, Seattle has the edge in the wins column, but it has just two games left (at home against New York and Golden State) and will likely find itself staring at scores as the season comes to a close, waiting to find out its fate. The Sparks, 19-20, have the toughest road, but they have five games left to play themselves into the postseason.

“Teams are fighting for their lives,” Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike said in a press conference after Monday’s loss. “Teams are fighting for home-court advantage, for their spots in their playoffs. So you have to be able to digest things and then move forward and see how you can get the next win. We did a good job of that for the most part the last couple weeks. But there’s only two games left, so there’s no option but to win both of them.”

Its fitting that the Sparks and Storm have been going in different directions in late-and-close situations.

The Sparks have found themselves in 20 clutch games this season — leading or trailing by 5 with fewer than five minutes remaining. Midway through July, they weren’t a team that found ways to come out with wins. In nine late-and-close situations through July 12, they were 2-7.

Since then, they’ve been a different team in crunch time. Their 9-2 record in clutch games since July 12 is second only to the Las Vegas Aces over that stretch.

The Storm are at the opposite end of the spectrum, with a 4-9 record in clutch games over that span, third-worst over that span. They’re 13-14 overall in clutch games.

With playoff hopes dangling in front of them, they found themselves in the clutch Monday.

The Storm let a 17-point, third quarter lead evaporate. By the 5:14 mark of the fourth quarter, they were clinging to a 5-point lead. The Sparks erased that with an 11-0 run to close the game.

“Beginning of the season, we might not have won this game,” Sparks forward Dearica Hamby said. “I think we’ve just shown growth. It started with [coach Lynne Roberts’s] positivity and her belief, so we’ve learned how to win close games.”

The Sparks still have their foot jammed in the door to the playoffs. With five games left, they’ll have to be near perfect to make it happen — and with two road games against the third-place Atlanta Dream, a home game against the last-place Dallas Wings, one last road game against the Phoenix Mercury, and the finale at home against the Las Vegas Aces, it won’t be easy.

“It’s one at a time,” Roberts said. “It’s been one at a time the whole season. We’ve just got a one-game season right now.”

A’ja Wilson, Aces: With a 34-point, nine-round night against the Dream, Wilson has 11 30-point games this season. The Aces have won 12 straight, they’re in second place, and she’s willed herself into the conversation for what would be a record fourth league MVP honor.

Aliyah Boston, Fever: Indiana is trying to make consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since 2015-16, performances such as Boston’s against Seattle (27 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals) and Los Angeles (22 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 steals) have helped keep them in the thick of things.

Minnesota Lynx at Las Vegas Aces, Sept. 4, 10 p.m.: There’s so much loaded into this late-season gem. It’s a matchup between the two best teams in the league. The Lynx have been the measuring stick all season, while the Aces are currently the hottest. The Aces are putting their 12-game win streak on the line against the last team that beat them (and, whew, that 53-point beating was ugly). And for anyone still on the fence about their MVP vote, Napheesa Collier and Wilson will go head to head.

Golden State Valkyries at Seattle Storm, Sept. 9, 10 p.m.: The Valkyries could become the first expansion team in WNBA history to make the playoffs, but they’ll have to go through one last gauntlet. They wrap up the regular season with home games against New York, Dallas, and Minnesota, go on the road to face the Storm, then end it at the Lynx.

Julian Benbow can be reached at julian.benbow@globe.com.