Bird, Jackson lead Storm to blowout win at home

All-Stars Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson combined for all 15 points during a decisive 15-4 second-half run, and the Seattle Storm beat the San Antonio Silver Stars 92-70 in Seattle on Friday.

After Marie Ferdinand pulled the Silver Stars to 52-51 with 12:41 left, Jackson scored at the other end to put Seattle up three and start the run.

Bird drew an offensive foul on Shannon Johnson that erased a basket, and then hit consecutive 3-pointers to give Seattle a 60-51 lead. Bird finally capped the run with a three-point play that gave the Storm a 67-55 lead with 9:31 left.

Jackson finished with a game-high 27 points for Seattle, and grabbed nine rebounds. Bird scored 14 of her 19 points in the second half, Betty Lennox added 15 and Janell Burse scored 10 of her 12 in the first half for Seattle.

Sun 70, Comets 66: At Uncasville, Conn., Nykesha Sales had 22 points and Taj McWilliams-Franklin scored three points in the closing seconds to keep Connecticut perfect at home. Sheryl Swoopes led Houston with 21 points.

Lynx 64, Liberty 60: At New York, Katie Smith made two free throws with 6.2 seconds left to lead Minnesota over New York. Vanessa Hayden had 14 points and nine rebounds, Svetlana Abrosimova scored 11 points and Nicole Ohlde and Smith added 10 each for Minnesota, which snapped a five-game road losing streak. Crystal Robinson led New York with 13 points.

Fever 62, Shock 57: At Indianapolis, Tamika Catchings had 20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists to lead Indiana. Deanna Nolan had 19 points and Sheila Lambert added 13 for Detroit.

Mercury 77, Mystics 66: At Phoenix, Penny Taylor had a season-high 31 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, leading Phoenix to its fourth straight win. Alana Beard scored 16 points and DeLisha Milton-Jones added 15 for Washington.