Sparks eliminated from playoff race despite win over Mercury

Dearica Hamby scored 16 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter, Rae Burrell had a career-high 20 points, and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the host Phoenix Mercury 88-83 on Tuesday, although it was not enough to keep the Sparks from playoff elimination.

Kelsey Plum had 17 points and Hamby added nine rebounds, but Los Angeles' postseason drought will reach five seasons when Seattle beat Golden State 74-73, a game that ended moments after the Sparks' win in Phoenix.

Alyssa Thomas had her eighth triple-double, Satou Sabally 24 points, and Sami Whitcomb had 11 off the bench for the Mercury, who are locked into the No. 4 seed in the WNBA playoffs.

The Mercury (27-16), who are 16-6 at home, will have the home-court advantage against the New York Liberty, the No. 5 seed and defending league champion, in a first-round, best-of-three playoff series to begin Sunday.

Thomas had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and like the rest of the Mercury starters did not play in the fourth quarter. Her eight triple-doubles are more than the rest of the league combined.

Los Angeles won for the first time in four games against the Mercury this season.

The Sparks trailed much of the first half before Hamby's two free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining gave them a 45-44 lead at halftime. They opened the second half on a 9-0 run keyed by a 3-pointer from Julie Allemand for their biggest lead, 54-44.

The Mercury responded with a 17-4 run that included Whitcomb's third 3-pointer for a 61-58 lead with two minutes left in the third quarter. The Sparks led 63-62 after three.

Thomas completed her triple-double on a short jumper during the Mercury's third-quarter burst for her 10th point.

Thomas' last triple-double came in her last game against the Sparks, a 92-84 victory in Los Angeles on Aug. 26 when she had 13 points, a season-high 16 rebounds and 15 assists.

Hamby's three-point play with 3:46 left gave the Sparks a 79-74 lead, and she had another three-point play to make it 86-81 with 1:01 left.

--Field Level Media