On Sunday in Seattle, two legends and future Hall of Famers met for the final time as the Storm hosted the Phoenix Mercury in the second round of the WNBA Playoffs. Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi were important players in what turned into an overtime thriller, with Taurasi hitting key points in overtime to help Phoenix advance to the semifinals.
In the fourth quarter, the two teams traded leads and big shots, with Sue Bird leading the way for the Storm, refusing to let her team bow out whenever Phoenix threw a punch. Bird finished with 16 points and five assists on the afternoon, and he really came alive in the final minutes.
Britney Griner, on the other hand, was a force down the stretch inside, simply dominating whenever the Storm sent single coverage her way. Griner led Phoenix in both scoring and rebounding with 23 points and 16 rebounds. With slow sets, missed free throws, and questionable isolation play in the final minute of the game, the game was sent to overtime on this Mercedes Russell block of Skylar Diggins-Smith, which took the game to overtime. The Storm led early in overtime on a three and were hoping to extend it, but Brianna Turner had a huge block that lead to a Taurasi three to tie it up, as she got rolling when the Mercury needed it most.
After then, Taurasi nailed a baseline jumper to give Phoenix a lead they wouldn’t surrender as they hung on for an 85-80 victory in the final minutes of the game. They’ll have to wait until the end of the Lynx-Sky game to see which of the Sun or Aces they’ll face next in the five-game series, but they’ve been rolling with a balanced offensive attack so far, with Skylar Diggins-Smith scoring another 20 points (plus seven rebounds and six assists) and Brianna Turner adding 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Sue Bird is considering retirement, which may spell the end of an era for the Storm. Following that, she and Taurasi performed an emotional on-court interview, reflecting on their years of rivalry, followed by a jersey switch between two all-time greats.
We’ll find out if this is Bird’s final season later, but if nothing else, she and Taurasi gave us one last epic showdown after giving the game so much for the past two decades.
