Sykes’ lob at buzzer lifts Mystics over Liberty 90-88
NEW YORK (AP) — Brittney Sykes scored on a lob pass at the buzzer to lift the Washington Mystics to a 90-88 victory over the New York Liberty on Sunday to close out the regular season.
Sykes, who finished with 20 points, caught an inbounds pass from Natasha Cloud in the lane and put it in before the buzzer, ending the Liberty’s eight-game winning streak and any chance to get the top seed in the playoffs.
The teams will meet in the first round of the WNBA playoffs, with Game 1 on Friday in New York.
The final play was set up after Breanna Stewart blocked Elena Delle Donne’s shot on the baseline with 0.5 seconds remaining.
Washington (19-21) turned a 71-67 lead to start the fourth quarter into a double-digit advantage. New York was down 84-74 with 4:41 left when Sabrina Ionescu was fouled hard on a drive by Tianna Hawkins. The foul was upgraded to a flagrant one. Ionescu made both free throws to start a 14-4 burst to tie the game on Stewart’s layup with 21.5 seconds left.
Cloud worked the clock down before getting the ball to Delle Donne, who drove baseline before getting blocked by Stewart.
Ionescu scored 20 points and Jonquel Jones added 19 for the Liberty (32-8). Cloud contributed 17 points for the Mystics.
ACES 100, MERCURY 85
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A’ja Wilson scored 36 points, making a final statement to repeat as MVP with her sixth 30-point game, and the defending WNBA champion Aces finished up the regular season with a win over the Mercury.
Kelsey Plum added 30 for Las Vagas (34-6), which wrapped up the top seed when New York lost earlier in the day. The Aces open the best-of-3 first round at home against Chicago on Wednesday.
Phoenix (9-31) finished a dismal last-place regular season with a franchise record 11-game losing streak. They missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012. The Mercury lost all four games to the Aces, with the last being the only one not decided by at least 20 points.
SKY 102, SUN 91, OT
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — In a regular-season finale where Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas set several league records, Courtney Williams finished with a triple-double, scoring six of her 23 points in overtime, to rally the Sky over the Sun.
Chicago, which clinched the final playoff spot on Friday with a 92-87 victory over the Minnesota Lynx, will open on the road against the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday night. No. 3 seed Connecticut will host the sixth-seeded Minnesota Lynx in a first-round opener, also on Wednesday night.
Thomas became the first player in league history to record at least 600 points, 400 rebounds, and 300 assists in a single season. Thomas had five points, five rebounds and four assists, playing just 16:24 for the Sun. Thomas set league highs this season with 24 double-doubles and six triple-doubles. She also set a league record with 316 assists in a league-record 40-game season (7.9 average per game), playing all 40 games. Courtney Vandersloot of the New York Liberty played in 39 games and finished with 314 assists for an 8.1 average.
Williams added 16 rebounds and 13 assists to earn her second triple-double of the season and career for Chicago (18-22), which played without star Kahleah Copper. She signed an extension with the team earlier in the day.
FEVER 87, LYNX 72
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell scored 24 points, Aliyah Boston had eight of her 19 in a game-closing 18-2 run and the Fever closed the regular season with a win over the Lynx.
The loss dropped the Lynx (19-21) into a three-way tie for fifth place with Atlanta and Washington with Minnesota ending up as the sixth seeded. The Lynx travel to No. 3 Connecticut to open the playoffs on Wednesday.
Although Indiana (13-21) will have the best chance of getting the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery, the Fever finished with more wins that the last two seasons combined (11). They also have the presumptive Rookie of the Year in Boston, who became the only player ever with 500 points, 300 rebounds, 50 steals, 50 assists and 50 blocks in her rookie season.
Boston also had 12 rebounds with Nalyssa Smith also getting a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Kayla McBride scored 24 points and Napheesa Collier 23 with 10 rebounds for Minnesota,
WINGS 94, DREAM 77
COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Arike Ogunbowale scored 20 of her 32 points in the second half and the Dallas Wings pulled away for a win over the Dream, closing the regular season with a playoff preview.
The fourth-seeded Wings (22-18) are home against the fifth-seeded Dream (19-21) in a best-of-3 playoff opener on Friday. Dallas swept the season series 3-0, winning by seven and 12 at home.
Ogunbowale drilled a 3-pointer and turned a steal into a layup to cap a 13-2 game-breaking surge to open the fourth quarter. That put the lead at 79-60 with 6:51 to play.
Natasha Howard scored 15 points with nine rebounds and four assists and Teaira McCowan had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Rhyne Howard scored 19 points for Atlanta, which shot 38% from the field. Cheyenne Parker and Allisha Gray both added 13.
SPARKS 91, STORM 89
SEATTLE (AP) — Jewell Loyd scored 28 points, setting a league record on her way to the scoring title, but the Los Angeles Sparks closed out the regular season with a 12-2 run to pull out a victory over the Storm.
Loyd sank 9 of 22 shots for the Storm (11-29), who end the season on a four-game losing streak. She hit 4 of 9 from 3-point range and finishes the season with a record 939 points. Former teammate Breanna Stewart, now playing for the New York Liberty, was second with 919 as the league expanded its regular season to 40 games. Loyd led the league with an average of 24.6 points per game. Stewart averaged 23.0. Loyd scored 25 or more points 21 times this season. No other player had more than 15.
Nneka Ogwumike had 22 points to pace the Sparks (17-23), who trailed most of the game before outscoring the Storm 20-11 in the final period.
Ezi Magbegor pitched in with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Seattle. Magbegor grabbed a team-record 318 rebounds this season, one more than Stewart had for the Storm in 2016.
___ AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball