Chelsea Gray scored 19 points, Candace Parker had 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists and the Sparks beat the New York Liberty 82-81 on Wednesday night.

Riquna Williams and Essence Carson each made a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to give the Sparks a 78-73 lead with 1:36 to go.

Gray made it 80-75 after two free throws and Nneka Ogwumike added two more on the Sparks’ next possession for a four-point lead.

New York’s Sugar Rodgers made two 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds, but Parker ran out the clock.


Ogwumike added 18 points for Los Angeles (18-11), which clinched its seventh straight playoff spot on Tuesday.

Parker moved past Taj McWilliams-Franklin for 19th on the WNBA career-scoring list with 5,023 and Parker also reached 2,500 rebounds. Ogwumike eclipsed the 3,500-point mark in the first half.

Tina Charles led New York (7-22) with 27 points. Kia Nurse got her second WNBA start and had eight points for the Liberty, who have dropped eight straight games. Rebecca Allen scored 11 straight New York points in the first half and finished with a season-high 13.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver, WNBA President Lisa Borders and New York Knicks guards Tim Hardaway Jr. and Emmanuel Mudiay were part of the sell-out crowd.