Sparks Take Down Mercury on Parker’s Historic Night

Los Angeles (August 5, 2018) – On a night that saw Candace Parker make WNBA history by joining the 5,000-point club,
Chelsea Gray stole the spotlight in the final seconds with a heavily contested step back jumper to secure a three-point
Sparks (17-11) victory over the Phoenix Mercury (16-13).

With the score tied at four at the 8:05 mark, the Sparks went on an 8-0 run to take a 12-4 lead and force an early
timeout from Mercury head coach Sandy Brondello. Brittney Griner stopped the bleeding with an eight-footer out of the
timeout, and DeWanna Bonner followed with a second chance bucket to cut the deficit to four (4:06). After free throws
from Griner cut the score to 16-14, Gray responded with a powerful drive and finish for two (1:19). A Riquna Williams
jumper with 0.6 seconds to play gave the Sparks a 20-16 lead going into the second.

Los Angeles opened the second quarter with six straight points to push their lead to 10 at the 8:19 mark. After Briann
January hit a jumper to stop the run, Taurasi exited with her fourth foul and the Sparks responded with a 9-0 surge.
Parker highlighted the run with her 5,000th career point, becoming the 20th player in WNBA history to reach the
milestone. Down 15 with 2:05 left in the quarter, the Mercury ended the half on a 7-2 run to leave the Sparks with a 40-
30 advantage at the break. Griner led all scores with 12 points, while Gray led the Sparks with 10 points and two assists.
Taurasi was held scoreless in the first half.

Ogwumike opened the third quarter with a post score and 3-pointer, and a corner jumper from Alana Beard pushed the
Sparks’ lead to 47-32. With Los Angeles leading 49-37, Parker fired a one-handed strike to Sims in the paint for the easy
two (6:24). Down 15 at the 5:55 mark, the Mercury surged to a 11-0 run capped off by Taurasi’s first basket of the game.
With the Sparks leading 52-48, Gray stifled the run with an impossible fade away jumper as the shot clock expired (2:21).
An exchange of long balls from Essence Carson and Taurasi sent the Sparks into the fourth quarter with a 57-51 lead.

The Mercury cut the deficit to a single point after opening the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run, but the Sparks answered with
four straight to push their lead back to five (63-58). After Griner and Gray exchanged jumpers, Parker blew by Bonner for
the layup to give Los Angeles the 71-64 lead with 4:41 to play. After January hit a three to cut the deficit to four, Gray
took a charge on Taurasi, fouling out the WNBA legend with 2:40 to play in the game. With the Sparks leading 74-72,
Gray drained a contested 15-footer with 17.6 seconds to play, the effective game-winner as Los Angeles went on to win
78-75.

Gray posted a season-high 24 points on the night, adding five rebounds and four assists to her line. Griner and Bonner
combined for 42 points for the Mercury.

Attendance: 19,076 (Sellout)

SPARKS NOTES:
– The Sparks shot 30-63 (47.6%) from the field
– The Sparks were held to just three 3-pointers on the night
– Candace Parker recorded her 5,000th career point, becoming the 20th player in WNBA history to achieve the
milestone
– Parker had 14 points and 14 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season
– Chelsea Gray recorded a season-high 24 points on 10-17 shooting
– The Sparks won the bench scoring battle 18-6
– The Sparks outrebounded the Mercury 36-30
– Nneka Ogwumike had 14 points on the night, extending her season-long streak of double-digit scoring totals

Mercury NOTES:
– The Mercury shot 26-66 (39.4%) from the field
– The Mercury shot 8-27 (29.6%) from 3-point range
– The Mercury shot 15-16 (93.8%) from the free throw line
– Diana Taurasi was scoreless in the first half and finished with 11 points
– Diana Taurasi fouled out with 2:40 left in the game
– The Mercury have now lost five of their last six games
– Brittney Griner led the Mercury in scoring with 22 points, her 14th 20-point game of the year
– DeWanna Bonner provided 20 points and nine rebounds

Quotes:

Sparks Center Candace Parker

On her offensive mentality and difficulty game planning against her

“In transition, my team has a lot of trust to have the ball in my hands. We are able to get stops, defend well, and get out,
with the number of weapons that we have, and the number of weapons that I have around me, we’re going to get a
good shot. That’s my job, to do that, the ball is in myself, Chelsea [Gray]’s, and Odyssey [Sims]’ hands a lot, and coach
depends on us, and the team depends on us to make good plays, smart plays, so for me, it’s just about playing under
control. Chelsea had it going today, Nneka [Ogwumike] had it going early, ‘O’ does a great job of coming to set the
screen, and slip. I kind of relate it to when Boston started running that action where Rondo was setting the screen for
Paul Pierce and nobody knew how to defend it. It’s kind of like that where when a guard is setting a screen for a post,
defensively as a post player you’re not used to getting over screens or switching, so we just kind of try to take advantage
of that this year.”

On 5,000 points and building her accolades on Pat Summitt’s honor

“Coach Summitt was instrumental in me as a player, but also as a person. And I think being able to have these
milestones, but also being able to keep them in perspective. I reflect on what she’s taught me every day in the way that I
parent my kid, in the way that I handle success, in the way that I handle failure, everything. So, she’s definitely a part of
me. I take her with me everywhere, and I know she’s smiling down. She’ll smile a little bit, like a little side smile for the
5,000 points, but I know she’s was really smiling when we win the championship.”

Sparks Forward Alana Beard

On defensive strategy against Brittney Griner

“You pray that she doesn’t score. Brittney Griner and [Dallas Wings Center] Liz Cambage are two of the same beasts. You
have to do your work early with them and I thought Nneka [Ogwumike] and Candace [Parker] did a great job of doing
that work early and understanding her tendencies. We do a great job of taking away the things they want to do and
knowing where our help is coming from.”

On importance of limiting Diana Taurasi’s production

“She’s the head of their snake. If you get her rattled a little bit, it trickles down. Coach [Agler], made a note to us
yesterday that, in their last game, [their] ‘Big Three’ scored 85 points out of 100. We know what we have to do, so we
implemented a game plan and I thought we did a great job of executing what Coach asked us to do tonight.”
Sparks Coach Brian Agler

On team’s performance

“Very competitive. I thought we had some really good spurts. I thought Phoenix played really well; they hung around
and we had a chance to put them away a couple times and couldn’t do it. That’s a tribute to them. They made plays,
they hit shots, they shot the ball really well in the second half. When they have that, hitting threes, along with [Brittney]
Griner inside, they’re a handful to defend.”

On how consecutive wins are preparing team for playoffs

“The Minnesota win and today were big wins for us because of the playoff implications, but there is a lot basketball to
be played, yet. We’re glad to have everybody back, and hopefully, we can keep moving forward.”

On Candace Parker’s 5,000-point milestone and 10th double-double

“Candace, to me, is probably the most versatile player that’s ever played in the league with regard to what she does
offensively and how she can score and create for her teammates, rebound, advance the ball. I don’t know if there’s ever
been anybody like that. It’s a great deal for her to score 5,000 and I’m sure she’ll keep moving up the ladder.

Mercury Guard Diana Taurasi

On Candace Parker’s 5,000th point milestone

“It’s been unbelievable. She’s so resilient and competitive. The minute she got into this league, she has changed the way
basketball is played. The way that position is now in the league because of Candace. She came into this league with so
much skill. Her way to do so many things at 6’ 5” has really changed the complexity of the whole game.”

On early foul trouble

“I should get used to these calls, it’s the same thing every year. I think that as players in the WNBA, we have been
frustrated a long time. It’s the same thing every game.”

On the leadership of the team when Taurasi is on the bench due to foul trouble

“It’s still a team game, that’s why you have 11 people on the team. One person can’t do it all. Today I think we did a
great job of staying in there and fighting until the last possession, and we had a chance to tie it with [DeWanna
Bonner’s] three, but it didn’t go in. I think we did a pretty good job for the most part.”

On being unavailable to play at the end of the game

“Yeah you always want to be in the game. I’ve been in this league a long time and at the end of the game is when you
really want to make your mark. You want to help your team, and today with all of the foul calls, I was on the bench.”

Mercury Center Brittney Griner

On coach’s decision to play almost the full game…

“If I got to play the whole game, then I got to play the full game. It’s not a big deal. It’s just what happens.”

On Los Angeles double-teaming her all night…

“I see double team just about every game, so I just try to figure out ways to exploit it, and just kind of get through it.”

On Chelsea Grey’s performance late in the fourth quarter…

“She just made really big shots. It was difficult to defend her, and sometimes you’re not going to be able to stop a
person. You just have to make it hard.”

Mercury Coach Sandy Brondello

On Diana Taurasi’s foul trouble

“It’s unfortunate. They were questionable fouls. When you take one of your best players out of the game, it makes it
hard to win. Credit to the girls, I thought they fought hard. We were close, Chelsea [Gray] made some really big plays,
and their defense was pretty solid. They made a great play at the end. They shot more open shots and made them.”

On final play of the game

“Well we needed a three. We had another play but I wasn’t quite sure we would execute it well. It was kind of open. We
couldn’t put it in BG [Brittney Griner], so DB [DeWanna Bonner] was probably the next best one there, with size.”

On message to team and adjustments going in the fourth quarter

“Just playing a little bit harder, and playing a little bit more physical and getting in plays. Make sure we have more
congestion against them, finishing plays. In the first half, I thought they had too many open looks. We had to get a little
closer and a little bit more active off the ball too.”

On struggles shooting the three in the first half

“We had open looks, and just missed them. A little bit of doubt goes in there but you just have to stay confident, and in
the second half, I thought we shot a way better percentage than we did in the first half. We just have to shoot with
confidence. Teams are going to trap BG and leave other people open.”