It was an evening when defenders draped over Kelsey Plum, her path to the rim typically crowded. And when she turned to the officers for aid, the whistles had been elusive.
However when it mattered most — that being with 3.3 seconds to play and the Sparks trailing by one — Plum lowered her shoulder and slipped between swiping arms and lunging our bodies.
One defender stumbled, one other bit on a pretend and Plum glided nearly untouched into the lane, kissing a floater off the glass because the horn sounded in an 81-80 Sparks escape.
“Only a heck of a end by her,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts mentioned.
Plum’s teammates mobbed her, embracing the veteran who appeared unhappy throughout her seven minutes on the bench and annoyed after Dallas defenders batted away her makes an attempt on the rim. All of it light, although, as soon as she poured in 10 fourth-quarter factors en route to twenty on the night time.
“I really feel like that’s what basketball is all about — placing on a present for [fans],” the Sparks’ Rickea Jackson mentioned. “Each groups really did that and everybody loved themselves and obtained their cash’s value tonight.”
However earlier than the buzzer, the night time belonged to Plum, Crypto.com Area belonged to Paige Bueckers of Dallas. In actual fact, at instances Wednesday night time, it appeared as if the Sparks had six gamers on the ground.
Bueckers drew ovations match for a house star. With swaths of followers flaunting her face on a T-shirt and spilling over railings for autographs pregame, the Wings rookie rode that backing right into a career-high 44 factors — tying Cynthia Cooper for a most by a WNBA rookie.
“She’s an exceptional participant, level clean interval,” the Sparks’ Cameron Brink mentioned.
The Sparks (17-18) entered Wednesday’s affair with a blueprint for Bueckers, Roberts recognizing pregame that “we let Paige get to the center which is what she needs to do,” in reference to Bueckers’ then-career-high 29-point efficiency final Friday in opposition to her Sparks.
However Bueckers solved each look the Sparks threw at her. Double-team her excessive, and he or she threaded the ball to cutters. Depart her one-on-one, and he or she buried mid-range jumpers with a composure that belied her rookie tag.
“Paige was unbelievable tonight,” Roberts mentioned. “Did we make some errors defensively? Positive. Was she simply unconscious and taking part in at one other stage? Sure. Simply form of should tip your hat.”
But throughout the ground from the rookie, L.A. leaned on a pair who had worn that tag simply final season.
They had been a product of the 2024 draft, a haul that featured Brink at No. 2 and Jackson at No. 4. Their pairing by no means had the possibility to completely bloom final yr, Brink struggling a season-ending damage only a month in.
A yr later, with Brink wholesome and Jackson entrenched within the beginning lineup, the Sparks lastly cashed in on their draft night time choices. On Tuesday, the sophomores saved their group from a five-minute scoring drought to open proceedings in opposition to the Wings, spurring a 15-5 spree that stifled the noise that adopted Bueckers.
“On each ends, we simply seemed like we’ve been off for a few days,” Jackson mentioned. “I mentioned, ‘Why does it really feel like we haven’t performed in a minute?’ However we picked it up. The primary 5 minutes was loopy, however we picked it up.”
Applause adopted Bueckers all recreation, however the remaining phrase — and the ultimate bucket — belonged to L.A.
