Sparks rally to beat Storm 91-85, Hamby scores 27

SEATTLE (AP) — Dearica Hamby had 27 points and 11 rebounds, Rickea Jackson added 23 points and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Seattle Storm 91-85 on Monday night.

Seattle led 85-80 with 2:47 to play but Hamby scored five points and Jackson four in an 11-0 closing run to pull the Sparks within 1 1/2 games of the Storm and Indiana for the final two playoff spots. Seattle missed its last five shots.

Kelsey Plum added 14 points for Los Angeles (19-20) and Rae Burrell had 11. Hamby had 11 rebounds as the Sparks dominated the boards 37-23. The also had a 60-30 advantage on points in the paint.

Nneka Ogwumike had 21 points on five first half 3-pointers and two second half three-point plays for the Storm (22-20). Skylar Diggins also had 21 points and Ezi Magbegor added 11.

Gabby Williams had two baskets and an assist to fuel a 10-0 run for the Storm, who led 25-20 after one quarter.

Ogwumike had three 3-pointers in less than a minute, making her 5 for 5, for a 36-25 lead 3 1/2 minutes into the second quarter. The Storm had six 3s in the quarter with Erica Wheeler’s in the closing seconds making it 53-39 at the half.

Diggins opened the second half with a 3 for a 17-point lead but the Sparks hit their first five shots and were 12 for 17 in the quarter. The final shot was a buzzer-beating one-handed push shot 3-pointer by Jackson from beyond the top of the key, to cut the Storm lead to 73-68 entering the fourth quarter.

DREAM 93, SUN 76

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Rhyne Howard scored 23 points, Naz Hillmon and Allisha Gray each added 17 points, and Atlanta closed on a 17-2 run to beat Connecticut.

Atlanta (26-14), which is headed to the playoffs for a third straight year, moved into a second-place tie with Las Vegas (26-14) in the WNBA standings with four games to play. The Dream have not won a playoff game since the 2018 season.

Connecticut was within 76-74 with 5:07 remaining before Atlanta scored the next 17 points. Howard and Jordin Canada each scored six points during the run, and Hillmon added the other five.

Canada finished with 15 points off the bench and Brionna Jones had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta.

Tina Charles led Connecticut (10-30) with 22 points and eight rebounds. Leila Lacan added 17 points, Marina Mabrey had 12 and Saniya Rivers 10.

Charles, Mabrey and Lacan each scored in double figures in the first half to help Connecticut build a 48-42 lead. The Sun closed the first half on an 8-0 run, with five points from Lacan.

Canada completed a three-point play with 4.4 seconds left in the third quarter to give Atlanta a 67-64 lead. But Rivers raced the other way to just get a shot up before the buzzer to get the Sun within one.

It was the first of three matchups between Atlanta and Connecticut in the final five games of the regular season.

LYNX 96, WINGS 71

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Napheesa Collier scored 25 points, Natisha Hiedeman added 20 points and a career-high 10 assists for her first double-double, and Minnesota beat Dallas.

Courtney Williams added 15 points and nine assists for the Lynx (32-8), who already wrapped up the No. 1 overall seed for the playoffs. Bridget Carleton had 12 points.

Paige Bueckers scored 17 points for the last-place Wings (9-33). Maddy Siegrist, Amy Okonkwo and Diamond Miller each added 12.

Collier and Williams both shot 7 for 10 as the Lynx made 55% (36 for 65) but Collier was 4 for 4 from 3-point range. Hiedeman was 4 for 5 behind the arc and Carleton 4 for 8 as the Lynx went 14 for 24 (58%). They also had 29 assists.

Dallas was 3 for 15 from long range and shot 39% overall.

Minnesota rested Kayla McBride, and DiJonai Carrington stepped into the starting lineup but did not play in the second half with a shoulder issue.