The Storm, and especially LJ and Bird, are focused and confident going into tonight's decisive game 3. Bird will play with a mask to protect her nose, but is not too worried. "It's not my favorite thing," she said. "But maybe it's good luck." Coach Donovan believes her team will need "to have better ball movement and better shot selection" to succeed tonight.

As for the Sparks, Holdsclaw's availability is still a game-time decision. But one thing Coach Bryant knows is that his team needs to have patience and resist the temptation to run with the Storm.

"When you toss up the ball, it's 0-0 (again)," Lisa Leslie said. "We have to go back and try to figure out what moves they are going to make. They are going to try to figure out what we are going to do next."