Storm on fire: Seattle on verge of playoffs; Bird scores record 33

Calling plays was useless.

With the score waffling between tied and a two-point lead in the second half for the Seattle Storm over the Portland Fire, guard Sue Bird was lucky to hear herself think. Pointing a thumb up or balling a fist was the way she communicated with teammates while a Storm-record 12,327 fans turned KeyArena into a deafening dome.

It was the NCAA championships all over again, as Bird skipped along the perimeter, in a loser-out game. Last March it was Tennessee and Oklahoma at the Alamo Dome.

Last night it was the Portland Fire.

And the Storm defeated Portland 83-74, taking a huge step toward clinching its first berth in the WNBA playoffs. Seattle won the Portland series 2-1 and gained a half-game lead over the Fire for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Now the Storm must either defeat Utah at home tomorrow or Sacramento on the road Tuesday to secure its berth.

"Sue makes all the difference for this team," said Storm All-Star Lauren Jackson, who had a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds. "She's been unbelievable this season. Having a great point guard makes all the difference."

Leading 72-70, Bird shook Fire guard Tully Bevilaqua from her tail. She hit a running layup and drew a foul with 2:04 left in the game. Bird then made the free throw to put the Storm up by five points. Moments later, Bird dished the ball inside to Simone Edwards, who made the layup, and Seattle secured the nine-point win. Portland never led in the game.

Bird scored a franchise-record 33 points and had six rebounds.

"They had a good point guard in Sonja Henning last year; you don't get better than that," Bird said of being the key to Seattle's success. "But I think they needed a point guard who was more of an offensive threat. But we also got Amanda (Lassiter) and Adia (Barnes), so you have to play us five-on-five. You can't just double-team somebody."

Noticeably absent in the game was the Storm's key third player, Kamila Vodichkova. Vodichkova played 24 minutes and was 0 for 11 from the field for zero points and six rebounds.

But while Vodichkova struggled, Lassiter added nine points and Edwards and Kate Starbird filled in off the bench with six points each. Adia Barnes added a career-high 10 rebounds.

As she's done all season, Tamicha Jackson led Portland off the bench, scoring 16 points in 21 minutes. Guard Jackie Stiles, also coming off the bench, had 18 points in 28 minutes.

"I'm not happy with the outcome, obviously," Portland Coach Linda Hargrove said. "Sue Bird played the best game I've probably ever seen her play, and I've seen her play a lot."

In the first half, the Storm built a nine-point lead after a Lauren Jackson rebound and put-back with 6:18 remaining in the half. The bucket sent the record crowd into a tizzy of delight. Jackson finished with 11 points in the half and Bird shooting 5 of 10 for 14 points.

But it wasn't a perfect half of play. Part of the Storm's problem was not getting inside the paint. Alisa Burras and Co. outscored the Storm 28-14 in the paint in the first half. But Seattle controlled the boards, outrebounding Portland 48-30.

"I really thought that whoever controlled the boards would win the game and that is exactly what we did," Storm Coach Lin Dunn said. "I also thought that we did a super job defensively. I'm thrilled to death to still be in the playoff hunt."

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com.