PHOENIX (AP) — Dearica Hamby scored 16 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter, Rae Burrell had a career-high 20 points off the bench and Los Angeles beat the Phoenix Mercury 88-83 on Tuesday night but the Sparks were eliminated from the playoff race.
The Sparks needed a win and a Seattle loss to send the chase for the last playoff spot to the last day of the season on Thursday, but the Storm pulled out a 74-73 win over Golden State.
Phoenix, the No. 4 seed, will host fifth-seeded New York, the defending
champion, in the best-of-three series when the playoffs open on Sunday.
Hamby's layup put the Sparks on top for good at 76-74 with 4:16 to play. She followed that with a three-point play. She added a three-point play with 1:01 to go for an 86-81 lead. There were 17 lead changes.
Kelsey Plum added 17 points for the Sparks (21-22).
Alyssa Thomas had her eighth triple-double of the season for the Mercury (27-16) with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, but she and the other Phoenix starters sat out the fourth quarter, Satou Sabally led the Mercury with 24 points and Sami Whitcomb added 11.
Phoenix led 25-19 after one quarter but the Sparks were up 45-44 at half.
Los Angeles opened the third quarter with a 9-0 run for a 54-44 lead and then the Mercury stormed back to take a 59-58 lead on Whitcomb's 3-pointer.
Burrell's driving layup in the last minute, when she tied her career high of 18 points, was the difference as the Sparks took a 63-62 lead into the fourth quarter.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
