Jackson's layup at the buzzer lifts Sparks to 101-99 win over Liberty

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NEW YORK (AP) — Rickea Jackson's layup at the buzzer lifted the Los Angeles 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 3 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 half of a back-to-back. 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 flipped a shot up, muscling through Talbot 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) 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 team's exchanged baskets, Azura 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 3-pointer that was waved off because off an illegal screen on Jonquel Jones. Ionescu vehemently disagreed with the call and telling the official to “tech me”. The referee obliged, giving the star guard a technical foul.

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, hitting 13 of its 19 shots in the first quarter, including seven 3-pointers. Jackson had 17 points in the opening period 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.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball