Gray’s buzzer-beater lifts Sparks past Lynx 77-76 in Finals rematch

There was no better way for the WNBA to open its 22nd season than with another intense matchup between the Los Angeles Sparks and the Minnesota Lynx.

After the Lynx received their championship rings and raised a fourth banner in the arena, Chelsea Gray and the Sparks gave them their parting shot.

Gray, the Hayward native who played at Duke, had 18 points, including two on a double-clutch, off-balance shot in the lane at the buzzer that gave the Sparks a 77-76 victory over the Lynx on Sunday in a dramatic rematch of last year’s Finals.

“Chelsea is the game-winner queen,” said Odyssey Sims, who led the Sparks with 21 points. “I don’t know how she squeezed up and flipped it in.