Candace Parker and Chelsea Gray scored 17 points apiece and the Los Angeles Sparks rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to beat the Washington Mystics 76-69 on Sunday.
Parker grabbed 11 rebounds, Nneka Ogwumike—who played the entire second half with four fouls—had 15 points and Alana Beard added 13 for Los Angeles (12-3). The Sparks have won six in a row against the Mystics and eight straight overall.
Washington (10-6) led 47-30 at the break and had a 14-point lead with six minutes left in the third quarter after Krystal Thomas put back her missed layup. Riquna Williams hit back-to-back three-pointers to ignite a 20-4 run that gave L.A. its first lead since the opening minutes, 59-57 with 8:30 remaining. Parker scored seven points during that stretch and the Sparks never again trailed.
Kristi Tolliver’s running bank shot made the score 69-all with 3:03 left but Beard answered with a jumper and the Mystics went 0 for 8 from the field—and had a shot-clock violation—from there.
Elena Delle Donne led Washington with 22 points, but scored just two in the final 17-plus minutes.
The Mystics had their three-game win streak snapped.
