ARLINGTON, TX — Casual Friday at College Park Center means defense is optional, apparently. If nothing else, it makes for an action-packed start to the weekend.
Paige Bueckers and Kelsey Plum, two of the WNBA’s coldest killers along the perimeter, went toe-to-toe early, often and down the stretch as the Los Angeles Sparks (16-17) pulled out a thrilling 97-96 win over the Dallas Wings (9-25) that had something for everyone on your holiday shopping list. Drama. Action. Attitude. Big moments with even bigger one-on-one matchups. Paige, Paige and then another heaping helping of Paige — Bueckers scored on four 3-point plays going to the basket in the loss and made it a point to get downhill to the cup every time the ball touched her hands. Some of the plays she made on Friday were, frankly, insane. She could not be stopped, but neither could Plum on the other end.
“We did a really good job of attacking the basket,” Bueckers said. “It created threes for us, but it also created more free throws and paint touches.”
Bueckers (29 points on 12-of-21 shooting, five assists) and Plum (28 points on 9-of-17, five assists) traded clutch shot after clutch shot after Dallas battled back from a stale showing in the third quarter. The Wings got it all the way down from a 16-point LA lead to a one-point margin on an improbable drive-and-dish from Myisha Hines-Allen to JJ Quinerly for a wide open corner 3-pointer to make it 97-96 with 15 seconds left on the clock. Hines-Allen had an open layup after a broken play, but opted to pass out of the easy deuce for a chance at three and it worked, so hey, why not?
Plum scored 10 points in the first and bookended it with 11 in the fourth quarter, including a tough drive through Quinerly for the bucket that gave the Sparks one more point than the Wings would be able to muster with 1:03 left to play. It gave LA a 97-91 lead at the time. Bueckers came right back down and scored on an authoritative drive down the lane just nine seconds later to make it 97-93.
“We’re actually pretty good friends. It’s fun competing against the best,” Bueckers said. “[Plum is] one of the best guards in the league, and it’s fun to go back and forth.”
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 15: Paige Bueckers #5 of the Dallas Wings speaks with Kelsey Plum #10 of the Los Angeles Sparks during the second half of a game at College Park Center on August 15, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Defensive lapses from Hines-Allen and Li Yueru left Dearica Hamby open on a couple of her five first-quarter field goals, but Plum scored over and through anyone brave enough to get between her and the hoop early on. The pair accounted for 24 points in the first, and the Sparks took a 32-27 lead after one. Hamby finished with 20 points and 10 boards for the Sparks in the win.
The Wings’ bigs kept Dallas afloat throughout the first five minutes of the second, and they did it with a hot hand from long range. Hines-Allen, Yueru and Luisa Geiselsoder combined to shoot 4-of-5 from 3-point range in the first 15 minutes of the game. Diamond Miller came in off the bench to start the second quarter and immediately provided two hustle buckets inside as the Wings cut the Los Angeles lead to 36-34 midway through the second quarter. Miller’s third bucket of the second came off a nice back-cut to the rim with 3:30 left in the first half to make it 42-38.
But Bueckers’ magnetic pull on the Sparks’ defense was always looming. She scored six in the first then made it a point to drive downhill straight to the rack late in the second, scoring on back-to-back drives getting past Sparks guard Rae Burrell to keep the Wings within seven, down 49-42. After getting clobbered along the perimeter trying to get the ball back into her hands, Bueckers drove right by Burrell again with 15 seconds left in the half and got swiped by Azura Stevens on her way to the bucket for another dipsy-do drive and the 3-point play.
But Bueckers wasn’t done yet. She got the ball back with three seconds left and drew yet another foul on a leaning mid-range jumper before the halftime buzzer. The two ensuing free throws gave her 15 points at the half and closed the LA lead to three, 53-50.
Bueckers and Plum got after it one-on-one a little in the third. Four minutes into the second half, Bueckers caught a post-entry pass just outside the lane with Plum on her hip. Plum wouldn’t give an inch on the post-up, so Bueckers dipped around her and created enough contact on her way up for another 3-point play, to give her 18 points on the night. The two had a brief back-and-forth after the whistle when Plum signaled t0 the LA bench for a review. No review came, because any objective viewer could tell the correct call was made on the floor.
There may be a budding narrative in league circles about a forgiving whistle going Bueckers’ way after the Wings’ 81-80 win in Indiana on Tuesday and Sophie Cunningham’s ensuing podcast commentary to that effect, but I can’t see it if it’s happening. Bueckers gets held and clobbered by wing defenders the league over as she fights for the right to just receive a pass along the perimeter, because smart defenders in the W will take every millimeter the officials will give them.
Whatever the case, Bueckers drove right through the LA defense the next time down as well to give her the 14th 20-point game of her rookie campaign. She would score nine more clutch points in the fourth to lead all scorers with 29 and become the fastest WNBA rookie ever to 500 points and 100 assists along the way.
Aside from Bueckers, the Dallas offense got a little shaky as the third quarter wore on. The Wings turned the ball over on four straight possessions as the Sparks extended their lead to 14, up 77-63, on Julie Allemand’s coast-to-coast drive after picking off an errant Geiselsoder pass with 1:55 left in the third. JJ Quinerly turned the ball over three times in the third after Bueckers came off the court for a little rest, then fired a fastball of a pass right through the arms of Aziaha James on the Wings’ first possession of the fourth for her fifth giveaway of the game. Los Angeles took an 80-68 lead into the final 10 minutes.
“Got to take care of the ball, and then, I thought, too, [there were some] missed layups that turned into baskets on the other end,” Wings head coach Chris Koclanes said. “Just those swings. We’ve got to find ways to take care of the ball and put ourselves in a position to not have to fight and claw back.”
Quinerly and James were instrumental in the Wings’ fourth-quarter comeback, though. They combined for 14 points in the fourth as Dallas outscored Los Angeles 28-17 to end the game. Quinerly finished with 11 points and nine assists, but also the five turnovers in the loss. Maddie Siegriest continued her solid stretch of play with 15 points in her fifth game back from a knee injury. She has scored 15 or more in three of the Wings’ last four games.