Candace Parker and Chelsea Gray lead the way in Sparks’ win over Sky

Candace Parker scored 24 points with 15 rebounds and Chelsea Gray added 20 with seven assists to help the Sparks beat Chicago 86-80 on Sunday night.

The Sparks (14-5) are a half-game behind Las Vegas for the second spot in the standings. The two teams meet Saturday.

Chicago jumped out with a 30-point opening stanza and led by eight after one. Los Angeles tightened its defense from there and largely seized control. The Sky (11-9) managed just 10 points in the fourth quarter.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Parker and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, and a tip-in by Gray constituted an 8-0 run for a 69-65 lead late in the third quarter and Los Angeles led the rest of the way.

Clippers

Nuggets get tough with Clippers: 5 takeaways from Game 2

A look at five takeaways from the Clippers’ 110-101 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals.

Sept. 6, 2020

Brittney Sykes scored 11 for the Sparks before getting hurt in the third quarter. She didn’t return. Sydney Wiese injured her ankle in the first quarter and also didn’t return. The Sparks did welcome back Nneka Ogwumike after having missed three games because of back issues. She scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds in 29 minutes .

Cheyenne Parker led Chicago with 24 points and 10 rebounds, Allie Quigley scored 22, Kahleah Copper 14 and Courtney Vandersloot distributed 15 assists against just two turnovers.