Storm fall with Jackson, Bird out

MINNEAPOLIS – Charde Houston had 22 points and the Minnesota Lynx rallied to beat the short-handed Seattle Storm 76-68 on Saturday night.

Candice Wiggins scored nine of her 18 points in the fourth quarter to help the Lynx (13-18) win for just the third time in 14 games.

Houston hit a hook shot in the paint with 1:48 to play to snap a 68-all tie.

Tanisha Wright scored 20 points to lead the Storm (19-13), who played without All-Stars Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson. Despite the loss, Seattle clinched second place in the Western Conference – and home-court advantage in the first round – when third-place Los Angeles lost at San Antonio.

Jackson, sidelined with a stress fracture in her back, did not accompany the Storm on their three-game road trip, and Bird was out with a sore neck.

Seattle missed 10 of its first 11 shots as Minnesota raced to an 18-5 lead after the first quarter – setting a Lynx record for the fewest points allowed in a quarter.

They stretched the advantage to 16 in the second quarter, led by Houston’s 11 first-half points.

“In the first quarter we were kind of passive, but from the second quarter on we played very, very good basketball,” Storm coach Brian Agler said.

Minnesota struggled in the third quarter, just as Seattle started playing better. Wright scored 12 points in the third, the Storm took their first lead of the game with 4:40 left, and were ahead 59-56 going into the fourth quarter.