Storm 82, Monarchs 62

SEATTLE (AP) — Broken nose and all, Sue Bird is headed back to Connecticut, this time to play for a WNBA championship.

Bird had 10 points and 14 assists a day after having surgery on her nose, and the Seattle Storm advanced to the WNBA Finals with an 82-62 win over the Sacramento Monarchs in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday night.

Bird broke her nose in the Storm's first-round series against Minnesota. She underwent closed reduction surgery Monday morning.

Her 14 assists were a playoff record, breaking the mark of 12 held by three players.

”What else can you say about Sue Bird? I don't think she's ever been better,” Seattle coach Anne Donovan said. ”I say that clearly because of how mentally tough she had to be.”

Donovan became the first coach in league history to take two different teams to the finals. She led Charlotte to the finals in 2001.

Sacramento's defense pressured and pushed Bird, running traps and different defenses at the point guard. She left the game briefly after taking an elbow in the stomach and took an accidental blow to the face from an official.

Still, Bird persevered to help the Storm become the first Western Conference team other than Houston or Los Angeles to reach the finals.

”She's amazing. So inspiring … I couldn't imagine playing with any other point guard in the league,” Seattle's Lauren Jackson said. ”She's awesome.”

Jackson scored 27 points to lead Seattle, which won Games 2 and 3 on its home court after dropping the opener in Sacramento.

Seattle will travel to face Eastern Conference champion Connecticut in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Friday night. The Storm will host Game 2 and — if necessary — Game 3.

Bird won national championships in 2000 and 2002 while at UConn.

Seattle put the game away with an 18-0 run midway through the second half. The Storm went 10-of-12 from 3-point range in the second half and 12-of-16 for the game.

”Making two-thirds of your 3s is hard to do in a horse game,” Sacramento coach John Whisenant said.

Sacramento went nearly eight minutes without a basket during Seattle's run, finally scoring on a jumper by Tangela Smith with 6:51 left.

”We missed four or five makable shots and the discouragement showed on our defensive end,” Whisenant said.

Yolanda Griffith led the Monarchs with 13 points, but Sacramento lost Game 3 of the conference finals for the third time. The Monarchs lost Game 3 to Los Angeles in 2001 and 2003.

”They hit a lot of shots, open shots, and we couldn't buy a basket,” Griffith said.

Bird said she had no ill affects from the previous day's 15-minute procedure. She played 33 minutes and was 4-for-7 from the field.

Seattle pushed its lead to 10 early in the second half, but Sacramento quickly ran off nine of the next 12 points to make it 44-43.

Storm reserve Alicia Thompson scored seven straight points to make it 51-43 with 11:28 left.

Bird's jumper with the shot clock running down put the lead back at 10.

”Alicia Thompson came in and started us going and then it was a domino effect,” Bird said. ”Everybody started making their shots and we started getting stops.”

Sheri Sam had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Seattle.