Katie Douglas scored 20 points and Margo Dydek had another big game in the middle for Connecticut with 14 rebounds and five blocks to lead the Sun to an 81-69 win over the Seattle Storm on Tuesday in Uncasville, Conn.

But the rematch of last season’s WNBA championship turned out to be a painful homecoming for Storm guard Sue Bird, the former UConn star, who broke her nose for the second time in a year.

With 3 minutes remaining, Bird was hit in the nose by teammate Lauren Jackson’s elbow while scrambling for a rebound. She had just scored four straight points to help Seattle rally from a 19-point deficit. The Storm had whittled the lead to 10 when Bird left.

Bird broke her nose during the WNBA playoffs last year.

Silver Stars 71, Mystics 62: At San Antonio, LaToya Thomas scored 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting, and San Antonio closed with a 10-0 run to beat Washington.

Monarchs 65, Fever 51: At Sacramento, Calif., Yolanda Griffith had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead Sacramento to a victory over Indiana.

Lynx 62, Comets 58: At Houston, Katie Smith scored 21 points and Nicole Ohlde added 20 and a game-high 11 rebounds to lead Minnesota to a win over Houston. Michelle Snow led the Comets with 15 points.