sabrina ionescu

NEW YORK — Rickea Jackson‘s layup at the buzzer lifted the Sparks to a 101-99 win over the New York Liberty on Saturday night.

The Liberty also lost star Breanna Stewart to a lower leg injury three minutes into the game. Stewart had three points and a rebound before she left and went to the locker room. New York was playing the second game on back-to-back nights. The Liberty rallied to beat Phoenix on Friday night.

Sabrina Ionescu, who scored 30 points, tied the score at 99 with an elbow jumper with 23.1 seconds left. Los Angeles worked the clock down before Stephanie Talbot fouled Kelsey Plum with 5.9 seconds left. The Liberty still had a foul to give, so the Sparks got the ball on the side.

After a timeout, Jackson got the ball in the post and threw a shot up over her head just before time expired. She finished with 24 points and Plum added 20 for the Sparks, who have won five straight.

The Liberty (17-7), who had a five-game winning streak stopped, were down 15 points early in the third quarter before rallying. Ionescu’s three-point play with 2:18 left in the game tied it at 95. After the teams exchanged baskets, Azurá Stevens hit a layup with 1:03 left to give the Sparks a 99-97 advantage.

Los Angeles (11-14) led by 15 early in the third quarter before New York rallied. The Liberty got to 65-61 and then Ionescu hit a three-pointer that was waved off because off an illegal screen on Jonquel Jones. Ionescu vehemently disagreed with the call, telling the official to “tech me.” The referee obliged, giving the star guard a technical foul.

Sparks forward Azurá Stevens drives down the lane past Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich during their game Saturday.

(Catalina Fragoso / NBAE via Getty Images)

New York trailed 74-69 heading into the fourth quarter before coming back behind Natasha Cloud and Ionescu. Cloud had 10 of her 22 points in the final 10 minutes.

Los Angeles came out hot, making 13 of its 19 shots in the first quarter, including seven three-pointers. Jackson had 17 points in the opening quarter as the Sparks led 35-20. The team kept it going in the second quarter and was up 58-45 at the half, making 10 of its 18 shots from behind the arc.

INDIANAPOLIS — Sabrina Ionescu won the three-point contest and her New York Liberty teammate Natasha Cloud was the skills champion at the WNBA’s All-Star Friday night.

Ionescu, who won the title in 2023 with a record performance, had a strong final round, scoring 30 points. It was less than her record-breaking effort of 37 two years ago when she made 25 of 27 shots — the most ever in either the WNBA or NBA. The total of 30 ranks matched the second-highest in the event.

Atlanta’s Allisha Gray, who made her own history last year by winning the three-point shootout and skills competition, fell short in both this time. She had 22 points in the three-point contest.

Ionescu’s 30 points was the second-highest in a WNBA three-point contest.

Gray went last in the opening round and needed to beat Kelsey Plum’s 22 points to reach the final round. Gray hit her final four shots, including the money ball to tie Ionescu and advance.

Plum, from the Sparks, was looking to become the first player in WNBA history to win an All-Star MVP (2022), skills challenge (2023) and three-point contest.

Lexie Hull who was a fill-in for Indiana teammate Caitlin Clark, who injured her right groin on Tuesday night, scored 20 points to finish fourth. Clark hyped up the crowd from the sideline before Hull’s turn.

Washington rookie Sonia Citron scored 19 points in the opening round.

Cloud had the fastest time in the first round of the obstacle course that combines passing, dribbling and shooting. She needed to beat Seattle’s Erica Wheeler’s mark of 37.5 seconds in the finals. Cloud won despite missing all three of her shots from the corner over the windmill defender. She was able to get through the obstacle course in 36.4 seconds — 1.1 faster than Wheeler.

After beating Wheeler, Cloud hugged Ionescu. She then picked up her girlfriend and Liberty teammate Isabelle Harrison and gave her a hug and kiss. Harrison had told Cloud that she needed to win so they could put a down payment on a house.

“You’re gonna get that house,” Cloud said after winning.

Cloud received $55,000 from Aflac as part of a partnership with the WNBAPA. She also receives $2,575 from the league for the victory, which was part of the collective bargaining agreement.

Wheeler competed a year after missing the competition in Phoenix because of flight issues due to a faulty software update that caused technological havoc worldwide. Wheeler spent a few years in Indiana and received a loud ovation from the fans when she was introduced.

Defending champion Gray, who was wearing custom A’ja Wilson shoes with “money sign” on them, was in trouble after missing all three of the chest passes, which slowed her time and spoiled her bid for a repeat.

She finished the course in 39.4 seconds, which was behind Cloud and Wheeler’s opening-round times. Courtney Williams (42.0) and Skylar Diggins (44.3) also didn’t make the final round.

NEW YORK — Natasha Cloud scored 11 of her 23 points in the third quarter and sparked a huge run to lead the New York Liberty to an 89-79 victory over the Sparks on Thursday night.

Breanna Stewart added 17 points and 14 rebounds and Sabrina Ionescu had 20 points for New York (12-5).

The defending champion Liberty trailed 53-42 midway through the third before Cloud and Ionescu got going. Cloud’s three-point play sparked a 13-0 run and then Ionescu scored 10 straight points for New York to give the Liberty a 63-59 advantage.

New York extended its lead to 69-59 by the end of the period. The Sparks (5-13) cut it to five with 3:30 left before Leonie Fiebich hit a three-pointer to seal the win.

Dearica Hamby scored 25 points to lead the Sparks, who got a boost with the return of Rae Burrell. She saw her first action since injuring her knee in the opener. She checked in late in the first quarter and played 12 minutes, finishing with five points.

The game also marked the debut of Julie Vanloo, whom the Sparks picked up off waivers two hours before tip-off. She came in early in the second quarter and played two minutes.

New York was still missing star forward Jonquel Jones, who has been sidelined with a sprained ankle. Jones told reporters Wednesday that she’s progressing well, but didn’t want to put a timetable on her return. The Liberty welcomed back Fiebich, who had been playing for Germany in the EuroBasket tournament over the last few weeks.

The Sparks built a 41-37 halftime lead behind 10 points from Hamby. Stewart had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Liberty guard Marine Johannes had two standout plays in the first half. She hit a three-pointer off one foot as the shot clock ran out, and later made a no-look, behind-the-back pass to Stewart for a layup.