The Los Angeles Sparks completed a three-game sweep on Sunday of the Phoenix Mercury to move on to the WNBA Finals. Game 3 of the WNBA Semifinals series featured a close score towards the final moments with former WNBA MVP Candace Parker scoring a driving layup with just seconds to go. That put her team ahead by two points and the Phoenix Mercury failed to answer with a tying or winning shot. Here's the latest Sparks vs. Mercury recap including the game's top performers and stats, as well as what's coming up next.

Game 3 recap

The Phoenix Mercury opened with a 25-21 start to the game but found themselves down 45-38 at the half.

They'd outscore L.A. 24-18 in the third and that's when things really picked up. The Sparks were able to get a three-point lead after Odyssey Sims hit two free throws with 14 seconds to go. However, after a Phoenix timeout, the league's all-time leading scorer Diana Taurasi hit a big three to tie things up. Candace Parker was able to respond with her driving layup with just two seconds to go. Phoenix would call a 20-second timeout, but Brittney Griner was unable to hit her 15-foot jumpshot.

Parker finished with 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting while also dishing out 11 assists and grabbing seven rebounds. Parker also had four steals and three blocks. Odyssey Sims led all Los Angeles Sparks players with 22 points while Chelsea Gray added 14 points.

Nneka Ogwumike scored nine points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

For the Phoenix Mercury, Diana Taurasi put in her best performance of the series as she hit 6-of-10 of her three-point shots and finished with 22 points to lead the team. Taurasi also had five assists in the losing effort. Brittney Griner and Ciara Little each had 18 points and eight rebounds for the game, while Leilani Mitchell finished with 12 points.

What's up next?

The Los Angeles Sparks will move on to play in the 2017 WNBA Finals and defend their championship. They'll meet up with the Minnesota Lynx for a rematch of last year's series. Minnesota was the No. 1 seed due to having the league's best record and will have home court advantage. Game 1 is slated to begin on Sunday, September 24th at 3:30 p.m.

Eastern Time on ABC.

The Phoenix Mercury had a successful run despite being one of the lower seeds in the playoff format. The team was able to defeat the Seattle Storm in the opening round before pulling off the upset against No. 4 seed Connecticut. However, they ran into a juggernaut as the Sparks had been resting up and were a team that just seemed unbeatable on their home court. Don't be surprised to see Phoenix back here again next season with their powerful star combo of Taurasi and Griner.
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