Percy Allen
The Seattle Times
Breanna Stewart claimed the WNBA MVP trophy, then proved why she’s the best player in the league with a dazzling performance to lead No. 1 seed Storm to a 91-87 victory over No. 5 Phoenix in Game 1 of the semifinals Sunday.
Stewart finished with 28 points — a career-high in the postseason. She also sank 6 of 9 three-pointers and collected seven rebounds.
In front of a soldout crowd of 9,686 at KeyArena, Seattle snapped a five-game losing streak in the playoffs dating back to 2012.
Stewart was sensational, but Jewell Loyd was clutch in the fourth quarter while scoring the last seven points for the Storm.
After Seattle nearly squandered all of its 16-point lead and led 89-87 with 1:40 left, Loyd drained a mid-range jumper with 60 seconds left.
The All-Star guard tallied 23 points while Natasha Howard had 20 and Sue Bird added 10 points and 10 assists.
If it’s true that familiarity breeds contempt, then Seattle and Phoenix seriously dislike each other.
The two teams played four consecutive games — including two exhibitions — to start the season and renew a Western Conference rivalry in which they combined for five titles between 2004 and 2014.
Last year, the Mercury knocked the Storm out of the playoffs in a first-round single-elimination game in Phoenix.
However, this season Seattle secured home-court advantage in the best-of-five series by lieu of the best regular-season record in the league.
Despite a close friendship between Bird and Phoenix star Diana Taurasi, the series opener was chippy from the start.
Taurasi, who finished with 25 points, complained about non-calls and engaged in heated dialogue with officials, which resulted in a technical at the end of the first half.
At the time, Seattle led 54-50 thanks to 19 first-half points from Stewart. Phoenix shot 54.3 percent from the field before the break, but the Storm connected on 10 of 19 three-pointers in the first half.
DeWanna Bonner led the Mercury with 27 points while Brittney Griner had 13 and Briann January 10.
