Storm off to fastest start

SEATTLE – Sue Bird scored on a fast-break lay-in with 6.4 seconds left and the Seattle Storm rallied to beat the Houston Comets 64-63 Sunday night.

Bird finished with 17 points, and Swin Cash had 11 of her 19 in the fourth quarter for the Storm (5-1). Cash scored Seattle’s first eight points of the final quarter to help the Storm establish a franchise record for the best start to a season.

Shannon Johnson scored 17 points and Tina Thompson added 14 for Houston (0-5), which is halfway to matching last year’s franchise-worst 0-10 start.

Tamecka Dixon gave the Comets a 63-62 lead with 53.8 seconds left on a jumper from the foul line. The Storm, who had been down by six points at the start of the fourth quarter, turned the ball over on their next possession when Bird’s pass into the lane to Cash was knocked away.

Michelle Snow then missed a shot that would have given Houston a three-point lead. Lauren Jackson grabbed the rebound and whipped the ball downcourt to Bird, who was all by herself and went for the basket uncontested.

Houston had a chance for the winning shot, but Snow’s try in traffic underneath the hoop fell short, and Tanisha Wright secured the loose ball for Seattle.

Jackson, who had 28 points in Seattle’s victory against San Antonio on Friday night, scored just six, but had 13 rebounds, including nine in the first quarter.

Officials whistled the teams for a total of 53 fouls, resulting in 64 free throws. The Storm hit 26 of 38, and Houston made 20 of 26.

Seattle’s Sheryl Swoopes, playing her first game against her former team, was on the court for just 17 minutes. She finished with two points and two rebounds. However, she had two steals to top 600 for her career.