WNBA Playoff Bracket 2018: 2nd-Round TV, Live-Stream Schedule

The do-or-die portion of the WNBA playoffs will resume Thursday following a pair of dramatic first-round games on Tuesday.

The opening round saw the Los Angeles Sparks outlast the Minnesota Lynx 75-68 in a rematch of the 2016 and 2017 Finals, while the Phoenix Mercury punched their ticket to Round 2 with a 101-83 defeat of Liz Cambage and the Dallas Wings.

Those squads will now head on the road in hopes of advancing to the semifinals.

As a reminder, the top-seeded Seattle Storm and second-seeded Atlanta Dream received double-byes into the semifinals and will open play against the Round 2 winners Sunday.

Round 2 Schedule

Thursday, Aug. 23: Los Angeles Sparks at Washington Mystics, 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Thursday, Aug. 23: Phoenix Mercury at Connecticut Sun, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

All games available via live steam at WatchESPN.

Preview

The Sparks dashed Minnesota's hopes of a repeat thanks to Chelsea Gray and Nneka Ogwumike.

L.A.'s fearless floor general was dialed in Tuesday with 26 points (9-of-17 shooting), six assists and five rebounds, and Ogwumike held down the fort in the frontcourt behind 19 points, five boards and a pair of steals.

On a night when Candace Parker (two points, 1-of-6 shooting) was invisible, those contributions were huge.

However, the Sparks will need their full complement of scorers to show up Thursday if they want to keep pace with the Washington Mystics.

A well-oiled machine, the Mystics are fueled by the lights-out scoring stylings of Elena Delle Donne and the sharpshooting combination of Kristi Toliver and Ariel Atkins.

Also consider Washington will be playing on three days rest while L.A. has to make a cross-country trip to the nation's capital, and the deck figures to be stacked against the Sparks as they continue to pursue a third straight Finals appearance.

The other second-round showdown will feature the Mercury against the Sun after Diana Taurasi put on a sensational display to lead Phoenix into the second round.

The WNBA's all-time leading scorer finished the knockout tilt with 26 points (6-of-12 shooting from three), 12 assists and no turnovers, and she served as the Mercury's chief conductor while the frontcourt combination of DeWanna Bonner (29 points, 11 rebounds) and Brittney Griner (17 points, five rebounds) punished Dallas inside and out.

As far as triumvirates go, that one is hard to top.

And yet, the Mercury figure to have their hands full Thursday against the Sun.

Connecticut owns the WNBA's No. 2 net rating (7.1 points per 100 possessions), and a balanced attack featuring five double-figure scorers allows head coach Curt Miller's squad to spread the wealth and frustrate opponents from a variety of angles.

Chiney Ogwumike, who's rocking a robust field-goal percentage of 60.3, should anchor that group with a semifinal spot hanging in the balance.

Stats courtesy of WNBA.com unless noted otherwise.