Diggins-Smith outshines Bird, Taurasi; Mercury beats Storm

PHOENIX (AP) — Skylar Diggins-Smith scored a career-high 35 points, Diana Taurasi hit 6 of 10 from 3-point range and finished with 28 points and the Phoenix Mercury used a dominant fourth quarter to beat the Seattle Storm 94-78. The game was 46th, and potentially the last, meeting between Taurasi and Seattle’s Sue Bird, the WNBA’s all-time leaders in points and assists, respectively and gave Taurasi 500 career games, second most in league history — behind Bird. Bird — who has announced that she’ll retire at the end of the season — and Taurasi (who will become a free agent) played together at UConn before being picked No. 1 overall in the 2002 and 2004 drafts, won seven combined WNBA titles and won five Olympic gold medals together.