Justin Russo

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We do indeed respect ballers around here.

I asked LA Sparks coach Lynne Roberts after tonight's win about the ability to run an inverted pick-and-roll with Azurá Stevens while Kelsey Plum screens for her. Roberts said it's not by design, but praised the duo for doing it. Lynne Roberts' full response (with subtitles):

With tonight’s win and the loss by Indiana, the LA Sparks are 2 games back in the loss column of the 6-seed.

Lynne Roberts on the Sparks’ bench play in tonight’s win: “Great teams need their bench. Everybody has a role and everybody matters. I think tonight it showed just what some punch off the bench can do for a team.”

Dearica Hamby said the Sparks' players went into a first-quarter huddle when they were down early, noting, “We knew we were playing like shit.” Hamby said the message was clear: “We need to play some fucking defense.” The Sparks turned around a 16-point deficit and won.

Lynne Roberts on the growth of the LA Sparks in recent weeks: “That’s the one thing: they’re playing to win and they’re staying steady, and I think that’s the key to sustained success.”

This is the first three-game winning streak for the LA Sparks since Aug. 6-25, 2023, when they won six in a row.

Kelsey Plum set the Sparks record for most consecutive games with 3+ 3PM in five consecutive games, surpassing Kristi Toliver and Mwadi Mabika. Over her last four contests, Plum has gone 16-for-31 from beyond the arc.

Sparks beat Mystics 93-86, notch their third straight win, moving to 9-14. Rickea Jackson scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half. Dearica Hamby dropped in 24 points and 14 rebounds. Sparks shot 51.5%. They’ve won 4 of their last 5 games, and are at Connecticut on Thursday.

12-3 Sparks run has turned this into a 10-point lead for them with 2:29 to play.

Brittney Sykes has returned to the Washington bench and is checking into the game.

The fourth quarter is only three minutes old, but the Sparks' Rae Burrell has already made at least a handful of impactful defensive plays in this quarter, including a low-man help sequence that led to a Sparks layup and drawing a charge on an ensuing possession.

The referees reviewed the play but determined the foul by the LA Sparks' Julie Vanloo was deemed to be a common foul.

Washington Mystics guard Brittney Sykes is down on the floor with teammates surrounding her after taking a shot to the head. Mystics staffers are using towels to shield people from seeing what's going on. Sykes has a towel over her head after walking off the floor.

Sparks and Mystics deadlocked at 67-67 after three quarters. Sparks have attempted 8 more shots than the Mystics, but Washington, who leads the WNBA in free throw rate, are +12 in free throw attempts. Dearica Hamby has 14 points, 11 rebounds.

Kelsey Plum is back on the floor for the LA Sparks after suffering a right ankle injury.

Kelsey Plum walked off the floor under her own power and went to the bench. Plum is out of the game right now, but the guard is getting that ankle heavily taped up on the bench as play continues.

It looks like Kelsey Plum rolled her right ankle on a foot as she went to contest a 3-pointer.