Storm moving in
Bird puts Seattle one from title
BRADENTON, Fla. — Breanna Stewart scored 22 points and Seattle moved within a victory of a WNBA championship, beating the Las Vegas Aces, 104-91, on Sunday.
The Storm will try to win its fourth title with a victory in Game 3 on Tuesday night. Seattle won championships in 2004, 2010 and 2018, and Sue Bird was running the show in all three of them.
Two days after she set the WNBA Finals and playoffs record with 16 assists, the 39-year-old guard notched 10 to go along with 16 points. The team totaled 33 assists to set a WNBA championship round record as the Storm featured a more balanced offense. Stewart scored 37 points in the series opener and Jewell Loyd added 28 in that game.
On Sunday, five Storm players scored in double figures. Natasha Howard and Alysha Clark added 21 each to go along with Stewart and Bird’s efforts. Jordin Canada added 10 points of the bench. The Storm took over after Las Vegas rallied from a 13-point deficit in the first half to take a 65-64 lead with 3:22 left in the third quarter
Seattle scored 22 of the next 30 points over the next six minutes to go up double digits again with Jewell Loyd ending the burst with a 3-pointer that made it 8673 with just under seven minutes left. Las Vegas couldn’t respond.
A’ja Wilson scored 20 points to lead Las Vegas while Angel McCoughtry and Emma Cannon added 17 each. Cannon provided a spark off the bench for the Aces, who were missing Sixth Woman of the Year Dearica Hamby with a knee injury.
Trailing by six at the half, Las Vegas made a run to take a 53-52 lead on McBride’s 3-pointer early in the third quarter. The Aces led, 65-64, with 3:22 left in the period before the Storm closed with a 11-3 burst.
Seattle held a 48-42 halftime lead behind 12 points from Stewart and Clark. The Storm, which totaled 17 assists on 18 baskets, built the lead to 13 before Las Vegas rallied to the six-point halftime deficit.