Kelsey Plum was in the spotlight for the wrong reasons after Saturday's 89-87 win against the Indiana Fever on the road for her altercation with Lexie Hull. With 7:57 left in the fourth quarter, things got heated with the teams being neck-and-neck and Indiana holding a one-point lead.
Plum tried driving to the rim from the perimeter but got trapped by a double-team from the Fever as her primary defender, Hull and screen defender Brianna Turner got switched onto her. The Fever duo trapped her, leaving Plum with no option but to use some physics to get a passing window after picking up her dribble.
The Sparks star elbowed Hull in the ribs. Hull fell on the floor because of the contact, and as she tried getting up, Plum kicked her and jumped over. The officials didn't call the whistle for either player despite their complaints. The play ended with a jump ball call between Natasha Howard and Julie Vanloo.
Here's the clip:
Kelsey Plum seemingly called Lexie Hull a "flopper" for falling to the ground after the initial elbow to her ribs. Fever fans weren't happy at all with Plum during this incident, prompting angry reactions from the supporters.
Here are a few of the comments:
Kelsey Plum improves to 21-1 against Indiana Fever in Caitlin Clark's absence
Kelsey Plum guided the LA Sparks to an impressive win against the Indiana Fever on Saturday. Plum had 20 points on 6 of 13 shots, including four 3s. Plum and the Sparks improved to 2-0 against the Fever this season. Her record is 21-1 against Indiana.
The Fever missed Caitlin Clark for the second time against the Sparks. In their previous matchup on June 26, the Sparks won 85-75 after another special effort from Plum, who had 21 points and six assists in that contest on 6 of 11 shots. Similar to Saturday's game, the Sparks emerged winners after out-executing their counterparts in the clutch.
With homecourt advantage and impressive wins against the Aces and Lynx in their past two outings, the Fever were well-positioned to record three in a row. However, the Sparks used their matchup advantage well, especially in Caitlin Clark's absence, to hand the Fever their ninth loss of the season.