Liberty 73, Sparks 71

UpdatedSep 9, 2012 9:07 PM ET

Cappie Pondexter had 21 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, Plenette Pierson scored 17 points, and the New York Liberty rallied to beat the Sparks 73-71 Sunday.

Essence Carson scored 14 points, including 11 during a 21-3 run in the third quarter that gave the Liberty (12-17) the lead after they trailed by 14 points. New York also trailed by 15 points in the first half.

''We fought hard,'' said Pondexter, who also had eight assists. ''At one point we were down almost 16 points. I told the guys at halftime that if we fight back and be victorious, it's going to feel even better than (just) winning.''

Coupled with Chicago's 82-77 loss at Connecticut, New York moved a half-game ahead of Chicago for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Liberty have five games remaining - at home against Washington on Wednesday, followed by road games against the Mystics, San Antonio and Tulsa, and a home date against the Shock in the season finale on Sept. 22.

''We've got to play like we have to win every game,'' Liberty coach John Whisenant said. ''If we get into the playoffs with a three-game series and we play as hard as we did tonight, there won't be anybody more athletically gifted like we played tonight.''

Kristi Toliver scored 17 points, Candace Parker had 14 points and 15 rebounds, and rookie Nneka Ogwumike added 13 points for the Sparks (20-10). Los Angeles, which has lost four of its last five, remained two games ahead of San Antonio for second place in the West. The Silver Stars lost 81-62 to Minnesota earler Sunday.

''We have plenty of stuff to move forward with in terms of just trying to be the best playoff team we can be,'' Sparks coach Carol Ross said. ''We still have more business to take care of before we get to the fun stuff.''

Carson's 3-pointer tied the score at 70-all with 48 seconds remaining, and Pondexter made two free throws about 26 seconds later to put the Liberty ahead.

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Liberty 73, Sparks 71