Los Angeles Sparks guard Chelsea Gray capped off yet another iconic game between the Sparks and the Minnesota Lynx, two rivals that can’t help but turn every matchup into a thriller. With the buzzer sounding, it was Gray’s floater in the lane that led Los Angeles to a 77-76 win on Sunday.
Chelsea Gray’s buzzer-beating layup helps Sparks ruin Lynx’s ring ceremony
This just adds to the long and lengthy history of the Sparks-Lynx rivalry.
You can see the play here, with Gray patiently driving into the lane with seconds remaining and finishing through the defense with a nifty left-handed shot.
This isn’t the first time that Gray has done this — here she is in Game 1 of last year’s WNBA Finals hitting a jumper at the buzzer.
Obviously, this just adds to a long history between the Sparks and the Lynx, two teams that have faced each other in the past two WNBA Finals and traded wins. (The Lynx won last season, while the Sparks took the victory in 2016.) It’s a fantastic rivalry, and one that the players and coaches acknowledge as well.
The Sparks’ win was all the more improbable because Los Angeles is missing Candace Parker, out with a minor back injury, as well as Jantel Lavender and Maria Vadeeva, two players finishing out their international contracts overseas. Minnesota roared back in the second half to tie the game and briefly take the lead after trailing big in the first half, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Gray’s heroics at the buzzer.
This was Minnesota’s ring night, and a reminder to the Sparks that they lost last year. Spoiling it for the Lynx is the least they could do.
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