Sue Bird led a pivotal fourth-quarter run to help secure the 323rd win of her WNBA career, and the Seattle Storm’s sixth in the last seven, an 85-71 defeat of the visiting Washington Mystics on Thursday.

The victory ties Bird with 2022 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Lindsay Whalen for the most in league history.

Seattle (11-6) held a 10-point lead through three quarters but gave up a 10-2 run in the first 2:53 of the fourth period.

Bird then went to work, dishing four of her team-high eight assists in the game’s final 6:10, including a pass to Breanna Stewart for a 3-pointer that ignited a decisive, 9-0 Storm run.

Bird followed Stewart’s 3-pointer with one of her own, then capped the outburst assisting Stewart on a three-point play that pushed Seattle’s lead to 80-69 with 3:36 to go.

Bird was one of four Storm scorers in double figures, finishing with 12 points. She added three rebounds and three steals.

Seattle’s Jewell Loyd led all scorers with 22 points, Ezi Magbegor notched 20 points and Stewart had 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. The Storm amassed 25 assists on their 31 field goals, and they shot 45.6 percent from the floor.

Washington (11-9) got eight assists from Natasha Cloud and Elena Delle Donne scored 20 points. However, the Mystics could not overcome a 37.1 percent team shooting performance.

Ariel Atkins finished with 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting, including 1-of-10 accuracy from beyond the 3-point arc. Her wild miss midway through the fourth quarter turned into a six-point swing, leading to the Seattle fastbreak opportunity that ended in Stewart’s three-point play.

Myisha Hines-Allen contributed 12 points for the Mystics, and Alysha Clark had 11 points and eight rebounds.

The loss was Washington’s second on a three-game road swing that concludes Saturday at the league-leading Las Vegas Aces.

–Field Level Media