Maya Moore and Chelsea Gray took the same number of shots Sunday. They made the same number of shots. And they finished with the same point total.
The difference in one being the hero and the other one not came down to a matter of seconds.
Moore made her final shot with 6.5 seconds remaining in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. Gray made her final shot with two seconds left.
Gray fired a closing dagger in a performance filled with clutch shots to stave off a historic comeback by the Lynx and give the Los Angeles Sparks an 85-84 victory at Williams Arena.
Both Moore and Gray led their teams in scoring with 27 points, but Gray's 15-foot jumper over Seimone Augustus allowed the Sparks to steal home-court advantage in the best-of-five series.
"That was the best that I could do," Augustus said of her defense on the final shot. "When somebody makes a great play, you tip your hat to them."
The Lynx followed their game plan when defending that final play. They made Gray dribble to her left, and they kept her from driving to the basket.
No problem for Gray, who gained a step on Augustus as she dribbled hard to her left. Moore ran over to help, but Gray pulled up for a fadeaway jumper at the left elbow.