
Los Angeles takes on Las Vegas following Plum's 24-point game
Associated Press
Los Angeles Sparks (3-7, 2-6 Western Conference) at Las Vegas Aces (4-3, 2-2 Western Conference)
Las Vegas; Wednesday, 10 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles Sparks plays the Las Vegas Aces after Kelsey Plum scored 24 points in the Sparks' 89-81 overtime loss to the Golden State Valkyries.
Las Vegas went 13-7 at home and 12-8 in Western Conference action during the 2024-25 season. The Aces averaged 86.4 points per game last season, 15.2 on free throws and 28.2 from 3-point range.
Los Angeles finished 5-15 in Western Conference play and 8-32 overall during the 2024-25 season. The Sparks allowed opponents to score 85.6 points per game and shoot 46.4% from the field last season.
INJURIES: Aces: Cheyenne Parker-Tyus: out (personal), Megan Gustafson: out (leg).
Sparks: Cameron Brink: out (knee), Rae Burrell: out (leg).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
recommended

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sam Reinhart reveals how Panthers stayed composed in Game 3
The post Sam Reinhart reveals how Panthers stayed composed in Game 3 appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers combined for an astonishing 140 penalty minutes in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena. But it was the Western Conference champions who came unraveled, taking 16 penalties totalling 75 minutes in the third period of the 6-1 shellacking. On the other hand, the Panthers kept their composure, allowing the Oilers to take penalties and then making them pay — three of Florida's goals came on the powerplay. 'It's not too difficult,' forward Sam Reinhart told reporters when asked how the team was able to stay composed, especially in the third period. 'You're just trying to finish and close out a game, and that's what we did.' The Panthers built a 4-1 lead midway through the second period and didn't ever give the Oilers a chance to get back into the game. Sergei Bobrovsky was masterful between the pipes, making 32 saves on 33 shots. 'We just went out there, played hockey,' said winger Matthew Tkachuk. 'We were physical when we needed to be, supported pucks. We talked about it in the third. If you have to take a punch, take a punch. If you have to take a cross-check, take a cross-check. Spear, slash in the face, whatever the case is, you've got to take it. 'We spent the whole period on the powerplay and were able to put in a couple insurance goals. When the time was needed to stick up for each other, it was there. We just played a really smart game.' Despite the Panthers taking 55 penalty minutes of their own, neither Reinhart or Tkachuk were penalized at all on Monday night. For the Oilers, Evander Kane racked up 16 penalty minutes, while Darnell Nurse had 19. It was an extremely encouraging performance from a Florida perspective; the Cats looked like the better team from start to finish, and it showed on the scoreboard. By the time the game devolved into chaos in the third period, the contest was already all-but-over. 'We were good today,' said Florida captain Aleksander Barkov, who was held off the scoresheet for the third time in the series. It says a lot that, despite their captain not scoring a single point, the Panthers have been able to pot 14 goals in just three games. That's more than the Oilers gave up throughout the entire Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars. The depth is just tremendous, with Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett both making legitimate Conn Smythe Trophy cases with eight goals combined through three games of the Stanley Cup Final. Florida continued to show its playoff mettle on Monday, and it's not at all surprising that the franchise has won 10 postseason series in 11 tries dating back to 2023. This club just looks borderline unbeatable at this time of year. The Panthers will try to put the Oilers in a 3-1 stranglehold when puck drops for Game 4 just past 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday night. Related: Panthers' Paul Maurice jokes about 'name change' after dominant Game 3 victory Related: Panthers' Brad Marchand shouts out 'animal' after monster Game 3 vs. Oilers
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads OKC in Finals, and the Clippers must be cringing
Paul George (left) was acquired by the Clippers from the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019 for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (right) and five first-round draft picks. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times; Nate Billings / Associated Press) It screamed watershed moment, the forever luckless Clippers outfoxing the eternally exalted Lakers for the services of not one, but two superstars. The news stunned the NBA: In a matter of hours, the Clippers had traded for Paul George and signed Kawhi Leonard. Advertisement Six years later, the deal for George is considered tragically lopsided, the Clippers fleeced and forced to watch assets they surrendered lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to within three wins of an NBA championship. The trade wouldn't be looked upon harshly had the Clippers won a championship in the five seasons that George and Leonard played together. But the deepest the team advanced was the Western Conference finals in 2021. George left as a free agent last offseason, signing with the Philadelphia 76ers. Leonard has played in only 266 of 472 games with the Clippers because of injuries. The Clippers paid George $195.9 million and have paid Leonard $194.6 million — with Leonard under contract for another two years and $100.3 million. Read more: Plaschke: I'm fighting Parkinson's one punch at a time Advertisement Meanwhile, one of the two players shipped to the Thunder along with five first-round draft picks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, has blossomed into the NBA's most valuable player. And the 2022 draft pick acquired from the Clippers was used to select Jalen Williams, a rising star who averaged 21.6 points a game this season. Both are bargains. Gilgeous-Alexander — known as SGA — was paid just $13.5 million his first three seasons with the Thunder before signing a five-year, $173-million contract that will take him through the 2026-27 season. Williams has made $13.7 million in three seasons and will be paid $6.6 million next season, the last of his rookie contract. And it's a deal that just keeps giving — to the Thunder, who as a result of the trade get the Nos. 15 and 24 picks in this year's draft and the Clippers' first-round pick in 2026. Asked to evaluate the deal moments after the Clippers defeated the Thunder in January 2024, George grudgingly acknowledged that the pendulum had swung toward Oklahoma City. Advertisement 'I just think both sides won,' he said. "I did think it was quite a lot that the Clippers were willing to give up. ... When that trade first happened, we knew Shai was going to be really, really good, but he's special." George sighed and continued: "I guess in a way, Oklahoma won that trade with the picks and future MVP, but both sides won.' Read more: Markazi: A behind the scenes look at how the Clippers won Kawhi Leonard and Paul George The fact is, the Clippers couldn't say no to the deal. Why? Because Leonard was a free agent coming off an NBA title with Toronto in which he was Finals MVP, and he was weighing offers from the Lakers and Raptors as well as the Clippers. Advertisement Signing Leonard was paramount, and he had given the Clippers something of an ultimatum: Trade for a star and I'm yours. Otherwise, it's hello Lakers. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer needed to be convinced that giving up the slew of draft picks was a smart move. Leonard signing with the Lakers was an unthinkable outcome to Clippers coach Doc Rivers, and he jokingly told Ballmer the Clippers would need to relocate to Seattle if that happened. 'Steve Ballmer was nervous about the picks,' Rivers told The Times in 2019. 'I said, 'Steve, you keep saying six picks for Paul George is insane, but you're saying it wrong. It's not six for Paul; it's six for Paul and Kawhi. So three for each. I would do that.' You have to look at it in those terms.' Knowing the Clippers desperately needed to consummate the deal, Thunder general manager Sam Presti demanded SGA — who was coming off an impressive rookie campaign — respected forward Danilo Gallinari and the draft picks. Advertisement Unforeseen was that SGA would rapidly rise from promising youngster to foundational piece to perhaps the best player in the NBA. He led the league in scoring this season with 32.7 points a game. He put up 34 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder's win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of the Finals on Sunday. In Game 1, a stunning Pacers comeback was helped by two late missed shots by SGA. Still, he scored 38 points, and his 72 in his first two NBA Finals games is a league record. Read more: Trouble finds ex-NBA star Shawn Kemp once again, and he may serve time for it 'I'm being myself,' Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters. 'I don't think I tried to reinvent the wheel or step up to the plate with a different mindset. Just try to attack the game the right way. I think I've done a pretty good job of that so far." Advertisement Through 18 playoff games, SGA is averaging 30.4 points, 6.8 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals. Only Michael Jordan and LeBron James have recorded those numbers during a playoff run of 16 or more games. None of this is a complete surprise. SGA provided the Clippers with opportunities to feel seller's remorse soon after the trade. On Dec. 22, 2019, he scored 32 points with five assists and two steals in a 118–112 Thunder victory. Two years later almost to the day, he made a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Thunder a 104–103 win. Next is closing out the Finals and delivering a title to Oklahoma City — something that has proven elusive for the Clippers, the oldest franchise in North American professional sports to have never played in a championship game. "This is where we are, you can't go back in the past," SGA said. "You can only make the future better. That's what I'm focused on.' Advertisement The Clippers can only do the same. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.


New York Post
4 hours ago
- New York Post
Sparks' Kelsey Plum torches WNBA refs in fiery NSFW rant: ‘F–k, I'm over it'
Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum ripped the referees over 'ticky-tack' foul calls after a loss to the Golden State Valkyries in overtime on Monday night. Plum was emotional as she complained about the apparent lopsided officiating, adding that she had scratches on her face and her body. 'I'm going to get fined for saying this, but, like, I drive more than anyone in the league. So, to shoot six free throws is f–king absurd,' Plum said after the Sparks' 91-89 defeat at the hands of the Valkyries, who are in their inaugural season as the 13th WNBA expansion team. Advertisement 'And I got scratches on my face, I got scratches on my body, and these guards on the other team get these ticky-tack fouls, and I'm sick of it. I get fouled like that on every possession. [Sparks forward] Rickea [Jackson] gets fouled like that in the post all the time, and they don't call it. And I don't know what else to do. It's really frustrating, though. Plum, who had 24 points, including four 3-pointers, and seven assists for Los Angeles, went on to share examples of non-calls by the officials down the stretch. Advertisement 3 Sparks guard Kelsey Plum ripped the referees over ticky-tack foul calls after a loss to the Golden State Valkyries in overtime at Arena in Los Angeles on Monday, June 9, 2025. X 'There are multiple shots at the end of the game, either going into the third, into the fourth, where they're just coming out and just f–king swinging, and they just don't call anything,' she continued. 'I don't understand how that's… six free throws. I'm playing 40 minutes, touching the paint on almost every play. It's absurd. It's absurd. 'So I'm saying I'll get fined for that, and that's fine, but I mean — and I needed to make more shots like late-game, but they're fouling the s–t out of me every single play. I'm very frustrated with that, and I'm sick of it. I'm sick of it. I don't know what I need to do. I've talked to the refs nice, I pray before the game, like, f—k, I'm over it.' 3 Sparks guard Kelsey Plum is fouled between Valkyries' Janelle Salaun #13 and Veronica Burton #22 a game at Arena on June 9, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images Advertisement The Sparks had 23 fouls to the Valkyries' 25. The three-time All-Star reached 1,000 career assists in the fourth quarter. 3 Sparks guard Kelsey Plum shoots a free throw during the game against the Golden State Valkyries on June 9, 2025 at Arena in Los Angeles, California. NBAE via Getty Images The Valkyries knocked down shots in the extra period, unlike Los Angeles, which missed 8 of 9 field goals in overtime. Advertisement Plum is in her first season with the Sparks after a trade with the Las Vegas Aces — with whom she became a two-time WNBA champ in 2022 and 2023 — this past offseason. The former first round pick is averaging 21.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. The Sparks have a 3-7 mark heading into a matchup with the Aces (4-3) in Las Vegas on Wednesday.