|
The Sparks (15-19) hold a 1 1/2-game lead over
the Sky (14-21) for the No. 8 seed with less than two weeks
remaining in the regular season. The Sparks are a half-game
behind seventh-place Atlanta.
But the Sky have won two of the three head-to-head meetings with
the Sparks so a victory Tuesday would not only pull them within
a half-game of Los Angeles, but give them the tiebreaker.
"We want to get in the playoffs and so do they, so we know it's
going to be a hard fight," Chicago guard Dana Evans said.
The Sky have won just two of their last eight games, both of
which came against Seattle in the last three games. Chicago
outscored the visiting Storm 22-10 in the fourth quarter to win
90-85 on Sunday.
"This is one of the most proud moments for me," Chicago coach
Emre Vatansever said. "Overall we've been playing really good
games. We showed big character (Sunday). They're playing hard
and got rewarded by the result."
The Sparks had won a season-high six games in a row before
losing to the Connecticut Sun 83-68 on Sunday in head coach Curt
Miller's return to the place where he coached for the last seven
seasons.
Miller said the visit was "a little bit overwhelming" after he
guided the Sun to playoff appearances in each of the last six
seasons, including Finals appearances in 2019 and 2022.
Now he's trying to bring Los Angeles back to the playoffs after
a two-year absence.
"In the beginning of the year we had a lot of adversity with
people being injured," guard Jordin Canada said. "But toward the
end of the season we're really starting to find our flow and our
chemistry and we're connecting. We're starting to click at the
right time, which is super important when we're fighting for a
playoff position."
--Field Level Media
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
