Dearica Hamby turned a tie-breaking layup into a three-point play with 5.6 seconds remaining Sunday night, lifting the Los Angeles Sparks to a tense 94-91 victory over the visiting Seattle Storm.

After a pair of layups by Brittney Sykes had produced the fifth and sixth ties of the fourth quarter, the latter at 91-all on a layup with 12.7 seconds remaining, the Sparks got the ball to Hamby and she was fouled at the rim by Dominique Malonga while dropping in her go-ahead shot.

Hamby made the resulting free throw for a three-point advantage, after which the Storm, despite the advantage of a timeout, could not get a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the air.

The win allowed the Sparks (15-16) to move within a half-game of the Storm (16-16) and Golden State Valkyries (15-15) in the WNBA standings. Those three teams are dueling the Washington Mystics (14-17) for the final two playoff positions.

The thrilling finish came after Seattle, down 78-75 following a Julie Allemand 3-pointer with 5:57 to go, went on a 12-2 burst that put them up seven with 2:52 left. Sykes, the game’s high scorer with 27 points, had a pair of 3-pointers and a short-range jumper in the run.

Azura Stevens got the Sparks back within two with a layup and a 3-pointer, and when Hamby dropped in two free throws with 1:25 to go, Los Angeles had rallied into an 87-all tie, setting up a back-and-forth finish.

Taking advantage of a team that had played — and lost — on the road the night before, the Storm blitzed the Sparks early on, holding the hosts to five points in the first 8:50 while building a 16-point lead. Nneka Ogwumike had seven points in the early flurry.

But Los Angeles turned the tables quickly. After scoring nine points in the final 70 seconds of the first period, the Sparks put up 32 over the second 10 minutes, taking as much as a nine-point lead.

Hamby finished with 19 points, one fewer than team leader Kelsey Plum, who also found time for seven assists. Stevens chipped in with 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds while Cameron Brink went for 14 points in just 11 minutes. Rickea Jackson added nine points and Allemand a game-high eight assists and three steals.

Sykes’ game-high point total came on 11-for-21 shooting. She also had four steals. Skylar Diggins aided the Seattle cause with 17 points and a team-high six assists.

The 19-year-old Malonga recorded her second career 20-point game and third career double-double, all on the road, with 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Ogwumike posted her sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

–Field Level Media

Brionna Jones scored 15 points and added 11 rebounds and Allisha Gray recorded 10 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Atlanta Dream finished a sweep of the season series with a 74-66 victory over the host Phoenix Mercury on Sunday.

Naz Hillmon had 13 points and 13 rebounds and Jordin Canada had 13 points for the Dream, who have won five in a row and seven of eight.

Alyssa Thomas totaled 21 points and eight rebounds and DeWanna Bonner tallied 16 points off the bench for the Mercury, who had won three straight.

The Dream (20-11) moved into a tie with the New York Liberty for second place in the league, six games behind Minnesota. The Mercury (19-12) are one game back. The Lynx beat New York 83-71 Sunday afternoon.

Atlanta won the first two games of the season series by double figures.

The Dream played the fourth quarter without Canada, who was helped to the locker room with 1:13 remaining in the third quarter after suffering an apparent right leg injury while attempting a driving layup moments earlier.

Jones’ 3-pointer with 4:56 left broke a tie at 58, and the Dream never trailed again.

Gray made her only 3-pointer to give the Dream a 66-62 lead with 3:34 remaining, and she made a driving layup on the next possession for a six-point edge.

Satou Sabally cut the Mercury’s deficit to 70-66 on a layup with 1:10 remaining but Gray and Hillmon made two free throws apiece to close it out.

Neither team shot well. The Mercury made 34.8 percent from the field. Atlanta shot 38.5 percent.

Dream guard Rhyne Howard had four points in 16 minutes off the bench in her return from a knee injury that kept her out for 10 games. She received two technical fouls and was ejected with 6:11 left.

Atlanta’s Brittney Griner had two points and two rebounds in 13 minutes in her return after missing the last three games with a neck injury.

–Field Level Media

Kiki Iriafen scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead a dominant Washington Mystics paint performance in a 91-78 Washington win over the Dallas Wings on Sunday at Arlington, Texas.

Dallas had 20 points in the paint, while Washington notched 48 paint points. After an efficient first quarter, Dallas finished the game shooting just 36.5 percent from the field.

The Mystics (14-17) snapped their four-game losing streak, while the Wings (8-24) have now dropped five games in a row.

Star rookie guard Paige Bueckers, who leads Dallas in points (18.6) and assists (5.4) per game, missed the team’s 88-77 home loss to the New York Liberty on Friday with a back injury. She returned with 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting and three assists

Mystics rookie All-Star guard Sonia Citron tallied 18 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Washington starting center Shakira Austin was out with a leg injury. Stefanie Dolson had 14 points and four rebounds in her place.

Jacy Sheldon, whom the Mystics acquired from the Connecticut Sun in return for Aaliyah Edwards, scored eight in her debut with Washington.

Dallas had four starters in double digits, including Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale (12), Haley Jones (11) and Luisa Geiselsoder (10).

Washington narrowed Dallas’ lead to 28-27 in the second quarter before the Wings scored 13 unanswered points. Bueckers cashed a three-pointer from the wing and drew a foul, converting the four-point play with 2:47 remaining in the first half.

Citron snapped Washington’s scoreless streak with her first point of the game at the free-throw line. Citron holds the Mystics’ highest scoring average now that the team traded Brittney Sykes, but Dallas held her to one point and zero field goals made in the first half.

The Mystics roared back with a 12-2 to start the second half, including Citron’s first made field goal of the game.

A Sheldon free throw at 6:09 gave Washington its first lead since early in the first quarter. The Mystics extended their lead to 63-58 in a dominant third frame in which they outscored Dallas 33-17.

The Wings offense couldn’t heat up in the fourth quarter, and were outscored 28-20.

Washington shot 40 percent from the field in the first quarter, while Dallas drained 60 percent for a 23-18 advantage heading into the second frame.

The Wings rattled off a 9-2 run, capped by an Ogunbowale’s mid-range jumper at the 2:58 mark of the first. The Mystics’ bench scored 14 of its 18 first-frame points.

–Field Level Media

The Indiana Fever signed veteran guard Odyssey Sims to a hardship contract on Sunday.

Indiana sought leave approval after losing guards Aari McDonald (right foot) and Sydney Colson (left ACL) for the season during Thursday’s 95-60 loss to the Phoenix Mercury. Both players had to miss a game — which they did Saturday — before the Fever qualified to sign a replacement.

In addition, another guard, star Caitlin Clark (right groin), has missed 10 consecutive games.

The Fever had just nine available players — and no point guards — while beating the Chicago Sky 92-70 on Saturday.

Sims, 33, was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 draft by the then-Tulsa Shock and has averaged 11.2 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 304 games (208) starts over 11-plus seasons.

She was with the Los Angeles Sparks at the outset of this season and averaged 9.8 points and 3.5 assists in 12 games (11 starts) before being released in early July.

She was an All-Star in 2019 when she averaged 14.5 points and 5.4 assists in 34 games for the Minnesota Lynx.

Sims played two seasons for the Shock before the franchise moved to Dallas for the 2016 season. She again played for Dallas in 2023-24.

Sims also spent time with the Sparks (2017-18, 2024-25), Minnesota (2019-20, 2022), Atlanta (2021) and Connecticut (2022).

The Fever (18-14) host the Dallas Wings on Tuesday.

–Field Level Media