Sun shut down Storm, Bird

Katie Douglas had 18 points and four steals, and Margo Dydek had 12 rebounds to lead the Connecticut Sun to an 85-81 win over the Seattle Storm at Uncasville, Conn. on Friday night.

All five starters for Connecticut finished in double figures and the Sun never trailed, leading by as many as 12 early.

Douglas’ defense on Sue Bird helped hold the All-Star point guard scoreless until there were 48 seconds left in the game. Bird had a season-high 10 assists but finished with a season-low two points.

Sting 70, Fever 59: At Charlotte, N.C., Tammy Sutton-Brown had 18 points and seven rebounds, and Charlotte recovered from an early 14-point deficit to beat Indiana.

Lynx 86, Silver Stars 79: At San Antonio, Seimone Augustus scored 26 points, and her crucial steal and breakaway layup with 1:13 remaining helped Minnesota win.

Comets 97, Liberty 62: At Houston, Tina Thompson scored 23 points to lead a Houston team without leading scorer Sheryl Swoopes past New York.

Mercury 93, Shock 79: At Phoenix, Cappie Pondexter scored 27 points and Diana Taurasi added 22 to lead Phoenix past Detroit.

Sparks 73, Sky 65: At Los Angeles, Lisa Leslie had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead a win over Chicago.