WNBA Playoff Capsules

Sep 20, 2015 - 9:27 PM WASHINGTON (AP) Tina Charles scored 17 of her 22 points in the third quarter to help the New York Liberty beat the Washington Mystics 86-68 on Sunday and even their best-of-three Eastern Conference semifinals series at one game apiece.

The two teams will play the decisive Game 3 on Tuesday in New York.

Charles, who only had five points in the first half, took over in the third quarter, hitting shots from all over the court - including a 3-pointer. She helped New York extend a seven-point halftime lead to 18 by the end of the third quarter.

Washington, which never led in the game, couldn't get much closer in the final quarter.

Tayler Hill led the Mystics with 19 points, hitting six 3-pointers - five of them in the first half.

SPARKS 81, LYNX 71

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Candace Parker scored 25 points to lead the Sparks over the Lynx and even up the Western Conference semifinals.

The two teams will play the decisive Game 3 on Tuesday in Minnesota.

Parker scored 15 points in the second quarter, on 5-for-7 shooting. She had eight straight points during a 12-0 run as the Sparks led by 22 points and took a 53-35 lead into halftime.

Ana Dabovic added a career-high 18 points for the Sparks, who won their first playoff game since 2013.

Maya Moore led Minnesota with 27 points. The Lynx started the third quarter on a 15-2 run, capped by Moore's 3-pointer, to pull to 55-50. They trailed by four points early in the fourth quarter but got no closer.

Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike left the game in the third quarter with a neck strain and did not return after she was struck in a tangle of players in the paint.

The game was played at Long Beach State because the Emmy Awards were held near Staples Center.