SEATTLE — Sue Bird had 21 of her 23 points in the second half and the Seattle Storm rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to beat the Minnesota Lynx 96-88 Saturday night.
The victory gave the Storm a franchise record of 21 wins in a season. Seattle (21-10) moved one game ahead of idle San Antonio (19-10) atop the Western Conference with three games remaining.
The Storm clinched its fifth consecutive playoff berth with a win Thursday at Chicago.
Five Seattle players scored in double figures as the Storm surpassed its franchise record for victories in a season. The Storm won 20 games in 2004 and 2005.
Tanisha Wright and Swin Cash had 17 points for Seattle, Camille Little 16 and Yolanda Griffith 11. The Storm improved its record to 15-1 at home.
Seimone Augustus had 26 points to lead Minnesota (14-16). Lindsey Harding had 11 points and 10 assists for the Lynx. The Lynx remained tied with Houston for fifth place in the Western Conference, 2 1/2 games behind Sacramento (16-13) for the fourth and final playoff berth, with four games left.
Seattle trailed by 13 points early in the third quarter before it outscored the Lynx 22-9 to tie the score at 57. Little had eight points to lead the comeback. Bird scored Seattle’s final six points to give the Storm a 68-66 lead after three quarters.
Augustus had 12 points in the third quarter to keep the Lynx close. Anna DeForge had 13 points in the first half to help Minnesota to a 46-35 halftime lead. The Lynx led by as many as 12 in the opening half. DeForge shot 5-for-5 from the field in the first half, including three 3-pointers. DeForge finished with 17 points.
Bird missed all four of her shots from the field in the opening half. She had one assist.
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