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Masked Sue Bird set the internet ablaze with dagger after dagger to save the Seattle Storm

With a trip to the WNBA Finals on the line, the Seattle legend painted one more clutch masterpiece to lead the Storm over the Mercury, all while playing with a broken nose.

By Matt Ellentuck
NBAE/Getty Images

A masked Sue Bird grabbed a winner-takes-all Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals by the throat, draining three-point shot after three-point shot until the clock died. It was a signature 22-point game on 5-of-11 threes — so many of them daggers — from one of the best to ever do it in what could be her last run to the Finals.

Bird scored 14 points in the final quarter, making 5-of-6 shots (4-of-5 from deep) to knock off the Phoenix Mercury and Diana Taurasi, 94-84.

Bird set Twitter ablaze on Tuesday night. The internet rallied behind an all-time great creating a memorable night wearing a not-all-too-unfamiliar accessory (Bird’s broken her nose five times while playing.)

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James among others went off:

Why was Sue Bird wearing a mask?

Bird broke her nose 48 hours before her No. 1 seed Seattle Storm team played a decisive Game 5 against the No. 5 Phoenix Mercury for a trip to the WNBA Finals. It wasn’t on a tough drive to the hoop or a scrap for the ball. It was an accidental elbow from her MVP teammate Breanna Stewart that sent Bird to the deck. Brutal.

That was in the second quarter and she didn’t return to the game. Her team lost, 86-84, blowing a double-digit lead in the process.

“The one good thing having gone through this before, you know how to deal with it,” Bird said after winning Game 5. “The mask is super annoying but I’ve worn it before. I really didn’t think about it that much.”

That was obvious as she went unconscious from deep, only taking the mask off for a brief few seconds to yell at a referee for not calling what she believed to be an intentional hit to her face.

She shook it off easily though, and claimed her late-game hot streak was probably the biggest clutch performance of her life.

Everything was going down for Bird:

And it ended with this:

Next up: Elena Delle Donne and the Washington Mystics on Thursday night in Seattle. It’s Washington’s first-ever trip to the Finals, and their star comes with an unwanted accessory, too. Delle Donne is in a knee brace as she suffered a bone bruise in Game 2 of the semifinals.

The injured stars will put it all on the line to come out WNBA champions.

While we’re here, let’s remember Sue Bird’s first great clutch moment

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