The Los Angeles Sparks extended their winning streak to five games with a 83-74 win over the Mercury, completing a season sweep of Phoenix. Led by Candace Parker’s sixth double-double of the season, the Sparks built a 23-point lead in the third quarter before the Mercury charged back and cut the lead to two, but the Sparks held on. Parker finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

The first half belonged to the Sparks after a Sydney Wiese 3-pointer put the team on the board. Candace Parker dominated the rest of the first quarter, leading the team in scoring with 11 points.

“I came out and took what they gave me,” said Parker after the game. “I know our team really thrives when we push the ball in transition and I was just trying to attack the paint and trying to make the smart decisions early, whether I was finishing or kicking out for open three-point shooters.”

The defense had her back, capitalizing on eight Mercury turnovers in the first quarter alone. The Sparks held a 14-point lead over Phoenix at the end of the quarter, 24-10. They wouldn’t lose the lead for the rest of the game.

The Sparks were able to maintain their lead in the second quarter, led by several contributions from the third-highest scoring bench unit in WNBA history. Seimone Augustus scored nine points in the game and helped the Sparks take a 42-26 lead into halftime.

“[Our focus has been] having the ball just pop and move,” said Sparks guard Chelsea Gray. “It’ll find the right person along the way. In order to get to the next level, we have to limit those times where we’re very stagnant.”

Brittney Sykes exploded in the third quarter, scoring the first basket of the half from a Parker assist and scoring eight points in the quarter. Sykes continued to attack the basket and the Sparks built their largest lead of the game at 51-28. However, Phoenix was able to respond with a 21-11 run and cut the Sparks lead to 62-49 heading into the fourth quarter.

Diana Taurasi, after receiving a technical foul, got going, and a flurry of 3-pointers from her, Bria Hartley and Sophie Cunningham helped the Mercury cut the Sparks lead to 73-71 with five minutes remaining. But once Candace Parker and Chelsea Gray re-entered the game, the Sparks clamped down defensively and prevented Phoenix from scoring again until the game was out of reach.

The Sparks will look to extend their winning streak to six games against the Atlanta Dream this Friday at 4 p.m. PT on Spectrum Sportsnet and Twitter.

Los Angeles Highlights:

• Candace Parker had 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals in the first quarter

• Sparks defense held Phoenix to 10 points in the first quarter and 26 points at half-time, both a season-best for LA

• Los Angeles held the Mercury to 0% from the three in the first half

• Sparks had four players score in double-figures: Candace Parker (16), Chelsea Gray (16), Brittney Sykes (16), and Nneka Ogwumike (10)

• Parker recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds