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Storm pull even: Lennox steps up as Seattle forces a decisive game

SEATTLE -- Two players around whom the WNBA Finals weren`t revolving became the center of the series` universe Sunday night.

In the end, Connecticut`s Nykesha Sales got the last shot. But Seattle`s Betty Lennox had the last word.

Lennox helped save the Storm`s precarious lead by scoring their final four buckets. And the side of the backboard helped save the game when Sales` last-second, go-for-the-win shot bounced off it at the buzzer.

The crux of it: Seattle escaped with a 67-65 victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,072 in KeyArena, knotting the Finals at one game each, and forcing a deciding Game 3 here on Tuesday night at 6.

``I wouldn`t be surprised if they scored all the points in the last three minutes,`` Seattle`s Sue Bird said. ``It was just unbelievable to watch.``

It`s hard to imagine Tuesday`s finale can have the same blow-for-blow, prize-fight atmosphere that this one had. On the other hand, it was hard to imagine that this one would have come down to Lennox and Sales throwing all the big punches in crunch time.

``For me, that`s a great game for the WNBA and for the state of this league where two players who weren`t highly looked-at coming into the series really took over,`` a relieved Storm coach Anne Donovan said. ``It was fun to watch.``

``I wouldn`t say it`s the best game I`ve ever played,`` said Lennox, who had 17 points in Friday`s 68-64 loss in Game 1 at Connecticut. ``But it was the most exciting game I`ve been a part of. That match-up between me and Lindsay Whalen, I tell you, it was one of those times when a player gets in a zone and you take advantage of it.``

For the record, both players set one. On the way to her 27 points, Lennox hit 68.8 percent from the floor (11 of 16), eclipsing the old Finals mark of 62.5 percent (10 of 16) set by Phoenix` Michelle Griffiths in 1998 at Houston. Sales` 32 points (she had just seven on Friday) was one better than Sheryl Swoopes` previous Finals record of 31 set in 2000.

``It feels good -- it feels real good,`` Lennox said. ``But my main focus is on trying to win the championship. I gave everything that I had tonight, and it even came down to the last shot by Sales. But it`s playoff time, and we`re in a position that I know I`ve never been part of.``

After leading on just a couple of occasions on Friday, the Storm never trailed in this one after jumping to a 7-0 lead. Ironically, the only time they would have been behind would have been at the buzzer -- if Sales` rainbow from the right corner had found the basket instead of the board.

``I thought our last shot was in,`` Sun coach Mike Thibault said. ``She just got herself too deep. We got the shot we wanted -- it was either going to be a lay-up for Lindsay (Whalen) to tie it, or a 3-pointer for Kesh to win it.``

The Storm had double-digit lead in both halves -- 12 points in the first, and 13 midway through the second.

But what had been a 52-39 bulge melted into a 57-57 tie with 5:18 left as Sales dumped in a dozen to fuel an 18-5 run.

That`s when the the tit-for-tat duel between Lennox and Sales took off.

Lennox started it by finding Kamila Vodichkova for a foul-line jumper and a 59-57 lead. Lennox then snatched a rebound at the other end and drove all the way down for a lay-up, and followed with a falling-down 19 -footer in the left corner for a 63-57 advantage.

Douglas` trey cut it to 63-60 with 2:10 remaining. Then, Lennox buried a 10-footer. Sales stole the ball and went for a lay-in. Lennox responded with a jumper from the foul line. Sales answered with a 21- foot trey from the right corner, leaving it at 67-65 with 37.8 seconds to go.

Lennox tried a short jumper from the left side that missed, but Sheri Sam grabbed the rebound, was tied up, and knocked the ensuing jump ball to Lauren Jackson. Two Connecticut players surrounded Jackson, forcing her to step out of bounds and turning the ball over to the Sun for one last try with 3.1 seconds left.

The shot for Sales wasn`t perfect, but she said it was a good one to take.

``I think it was a tough shot, me being a right-handed shooter and being on the baseline, I had to change the shot a little bit,`` she said. ``I don`t know how much time I had -- if I had maybe an extra second, I could have got set. But I sort of rushed it.

``But it was a good look.``

With the final buzzer still echoing in the din of the 17,000-plus fans, Donovan put her hands together prayer-like as she walked downcourt to shake hands with the Connecticut coaches.

``It`s one missed shot or one lost jump ball that`s going to make the difference down the stretch,`` she said.

* ALSO: With Lennox stealing the show, Lauren Jackson`s double-double almost got lost in the crowd. She delivered 15 points and 11 rebounds. Sue Bird added 10 points. ... Among the throng on Sunday were former Storm coach Lin Dunn (now an assistant with Indiana), former assistant coach Carrie Graf (now the head coach at Phoenix) and former Storm players Kate Paye, Katie Steding, Charmin Smith, Edna Campbell and Jamie Redd. ... Wendy Palmer, who scored 16 points in Game 1, went scoreless on Sunday, and left the game just 1:31 into the second half with a right shoulder strain. More on her status will be known today. ... Sunday`s crowd was the seventh-largest in Finals history and was the first time the Storm has sold out the entire building, though they have had several lower-bowl sellouts.