Takeaways: Washington Mystics destroy Los Angeles Sparks 96-64, advance to playoff semis

Washington Mystics end the Los Angeles Sparks’ season with dominating victory.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday night, the Washington Mystics didn’t just end the curse that has plagued No. 3 seeds in the new WNBA playoff format over the past two years; they ripped it to shreds, set the shreds on fire, then flushed the ashes down the toilet.

The Mystics beat the visiting Los Angeles Sparks 96-64 in round two of the WNBA playoffs, and to be honest, it didn’t even feel that close. It’s now official: For the first time in three years, the WNBA finals won’t feature the Minnesota Lynx or the Sparks. It is, indeed, a new era.

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Yes, the Sparks were understandably fatigued. Their travel schedule over the last week is exhausting just to look at. Last Friday, they were in D.C. to play the Mystics, in a game they lost on a Natasha Cloud buzzer beater. On Sunday, they traveled to Connecticut, where they lost to the Sun. Then, on Tuesday, they hosted the defending champion Minnesota Lynx in the first round of the playoffs, another single-elimination game. According to Sparks PR, the Sparks traveled 4.843 miles int he last four days alone.

But still, this game was about much more than fatigue and freshness. The Mystics outclassed the Sparks in every single facet of the game.

The Mystics had 42 points in the paint, compared to only 28 by the Sparks. The Mystics had 14 fast-break points, the Sparks had four. The Mystics had 36 rebounds, the Sparks had 29.

Elena Delle Donne led all scorers and rebounders, with 19 points and 12 boards. But there were five other Mystics who scored in double digits — all four of the other starters, plus Tianna Hawkins. Meanwhile, Candace Parker led the way for the Sparks with 16 points and eight boards, but there were no other Sparks players in double digits.

To sum things up, the Sparks only shot 34.3 percent from the field, while the Mystics made 56.9 percent of their shots. It just wasn’t a contest.

“Obviously, we did a lot of things really well. We wanted to keep the pace of the game up,” Mystics head coach Mike Thibault said after the game. “They like to play a lot slower; they like lower possession games. And then, you know, we preach all the time about there are three things we need to win playoff games. That’s turnovers, free throw difference, and rebounding, and we did all of those tonight.”

Other takeaways:

The Mystics had a season-high number of assists. The Mystics averaged just over 17 assists per game all season, which was 11th out of 12 teams in the league. On Thursday night, they had 28 assists, a season high, and a franchise playoff high. The ball movement was absolutely spectacular, and it regularly allowed them to escape double teams and keep the Sparks’ defense off balance. When asked about the high number of assists after the game, Delle Donne praised the team’s chemistry and trust.

“I think it was just trusting the next pass and trusting one another,” Delle Donne said. “Not having to force any situation and just knowing if we continued to move the ball, they were going to break down at some point. We built a great culture here. Our trust with one another has grown this entire season on defense and offense and tonight it all kind of just came together.”

Natasha Cloud’s improved three-point shooting was crucial. Cloud worked so hard during the offseason to get fit, healthy, and to improve her three-point shooting. And heavens has that work paid off. After spending most of last season coming off the bench, Cloud has been the Mystics’ go-to point guard this year. Her speed, energy, and vocal on-court leadership keeps the team going, especially in transition.

But also? She can shoot now! Since last season, she’s improved her field-goal percentage by 12 points from the field (31.4 vs. 43.6) and 15 points from beyond the arc (23.5 vs. 38.6). That’s a staggering improvement, and it’s doubled her points per game, from 4.4 to 8.6.

On Thursday, she was 5-for-9 from the field, and 3-for-6 from outside, for 13 points. She added seven assists and five rebounds to her total. Considering both Delle Donne and Kristi Toliver were a combined 1-for-6 from outside, Cloud’s ability to stretch the floor was absolutely crucial, especially in the second quarter, when the Sparks were trying to hang in there and keep the game within reach.

LaToya Sanders did it all. I literally just wrote 1500 words on Sanders, so I won’t spend much time on her here. However, her stat line needs to be highlighted because it’s absolutely ridiculous: The 6’3″ center was 7-for-11 for 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four steals, and three blocks. Oh, and she also had zero turnovers.

“LaToya makes my life so easy,” Delle Donne said in press. “She does it all. She always has to defend the best big. She’s all over the boards. She’s so efficient on offense where players like us, we get high touches and we get to shoot a lot. LaToya doesn’t get as many touches, but when she does, she knocks them down and she’s super efficient. She’s been so big for us this entire season.”

Ariel Atkins had no fear in first career WNBA playoff game. If the rookie was supposed to be afraid of the big stage, nobody bothered to tell her. Atkins was a lethal 6-for-7 from the field, 2-for-2 from outside, and added two boards and three assists for 14 points. She simply isn’t phased by anything.

Tianna Hawkins made a huge impact off of the bench. In the first half, Hawkins only played five minutes and 59 seconds, but she managed to score 10 points and nab a steal during those minutes. Her performance off the bench, along with Aerial Powers’, who had four points, three rebounds, and one block in the first half, really helped the Mystics establish momentum — and a 21-point lead — headed into the half.

Los Angeles isn’t making excuses. I really have to give it to the Sparks; they handled this destruction with a lot of class. Both Parker and Nneka Ogwumike were reflective and relaxed in the post-game podium presser, discussing how much they can learn from the trials and tribulations of this season going forward.

And Sparks head coach Brian Agler refused to complain about the scheduling or the playoff format. His opening statement was nothing but class.

“Our mentality is that we play the hand that we’re dealt so you don’t have any excuses. My hats off to Washington,” Agler told the press. “They played really well. Played well. Made the right plays offensively. Found open people. Hit shots. Made it difficult for us at our offensive end so they were the better team today. There’s no question about that. I just want to wish them the best of luck but from our standpoint, this wasn’t a great showing for us. We know we can play better and it just didn’t happen tonight.”

I loved how Nneka described the Mystics. “D.C, they have really figured out their team, they figured out their players,” Ogqwumike said. “They are not just playing well, they put people in good positions. People thrive because they have the chemistry and they know what people are good at and what people like to do. That makes it tough. That makes it really tough. I just feel like they are playing stress free. That is kind of what it seems like. They are playing stress free.”

Coach T has a winning strategy heading to Atlanta. “We did most things pretty well tonight. I would just say do them all again, that would be the simplest thing.”