Jackson, Seattle hold off Detroit

From combined dispatches

STORM 79, SHOCK 75: Lauren Jackson scored 36 points to lead Seattle over Detroit on Tuesday night in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Deanna Nolan finished with 29 for Detroit.

Seattle dominated the first half, taking a 38-21 lead behind 17 points from Jackson. The Storm outshot Detroit 49 percent to 27 percent.

The Shock, though, started the third quarter with a 13-0 run to get back into the game.

The Storm still had a five-point advantage going into the fourth, but Taj McWilliams’ three-point play tied the game at 67-67 with 3:37 left. Jackson answered with her third 3-pointer of the quarter, and former Shock players Swin Cash and Shannon Johnson hit four key free throws in the last 90 seconds

MERCURY 106, SKY 99: Diana Taurasi scored 27 points and led a late charge that carried visiting Phoenix to a victory over Chicago.

Taurasi hit two 3-pointers in a 50-second span during the final two minutes as the Western Conference leaders (18-8) pulled away after a seesaw fourth quarter.

Shyra Ely scored a career-high 26 points starting in place of injured center Sylvia Fowles, but Chicago (13-13) lost for only the third time in 13 tries on its homecourt.