It was a night when defenders draped over Kelsey Plum, her path to the rim often crowded. And when she turned to the officials for relief, the whistles were elusive.
But 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 bodies.
One defender stumbled, another bit on a fake and Plum glided almost untouched into the lane, kissing a floater off the glass as the horn sounded in an 81-80 Sparks escape over the Dallas Wings.
“Just a heck of a finish by her,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said.
Plum’s teammates mobbed her, embracing the veteran who appeared unsatisfied during her seven minutes on the bench and frustrated after Dallas defenders batted away her attempts at the rim. All of it faded, though, once she poured in 10 fourth-quarter points en route to 20 on the night.
“I feel like that’s what basketball is all about — putting on a show for [fans],” the Sparks’ Rickea Jackson said. “Both teams truly did that and everyone enjoyed themselves and got their money’s worth tonight.”
But before the buzzer, the night belonged to Plum, Crypto.com Arena belonged to Paige Bueckers of Dallas. In fact, at times Wednesday night, it seemed as though the Sparks had six players on the floor.
Bueckers drew ovations fit for a home star. With swaths of fans flaunting her face on a T-shirt and spilling over railings for autographs pregame, the Wings rookie rode that backing into a career-high 44 points — tying Cynthia Cooper for a most by a WNBA rookie.
“She’s a phenomenal player, point blank period,” the Sparks’ Cameron Brink said.
The Sparks (17-18) entered Wednesday’s affair with a blueprint for Bueckers, Roberts recognizing pregame that “we let Paige get to the middle which is what she wants to do,” in reference to Bueckers’ then-career-high 29-point performance last Friday against her Sparks.
But Bueckers solved every look the Sparks threw at her. Double-team her high, and she threaded the ball to cutters. Leave her one-on-one, and she buried mid-range jumpers with a composure that belied her rookie tag.
“Paige was unbelievable tonight,” Roberts said. “Did we make some mistakes defensively? Sure. Was she just unconscious and playing at another level? Yes. Just kind of have to tip your hat.”
Yet across the floor from the rookie, L.A. leaned on a pair who had worn that tag just last season.
They were a product of the 2024 draft, a haul that featured Brink at No. 2 and Jackson at No. 4. Their pairing never had the chance to fully bloom last year, Brink suffering a season-ending injury just a month in.
A year later, with Brink healthy and Jackson entrenched in the starting lineup, the Sparks finally cashed in on their draft night selections. On Tuesday, the sophomores saved their team from a five-minute scoring drought to open proceedings against the Wings, spurring a 15-5 spree that stifled the noise that followed Bueckers.
“On both ends, we just looked like we’ve been off for a couple of days,” Jackson said. “I said, ‘Why does it feel like we haven’t played in a minute?’ But we picked it up. The first five minutes was crazy, but we picked it up.”
Applause followed Bueckers all game, but the final word — and the final bucket — belonged to L.A.
