Chicago Sky game day

Chicago Sky at New York Liberty, 11 a.m. Thursday, Prudential Center, Newark, NJ

TV: NBA TV

Last time: Saturday, the Sky (9-11) lost to the visiting Los Angeles Sparks, 88-84; Tuesday, the Liberty (11-8) defeated the host Atlanta Dream, 85-75.

Skinny: First, the Sky owes New York a thank you. The Liberty's win over Atlanta on Tuesday pushed the Dream a half-game behind the Sky for fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings. The top four teams in the conference make the playoffs. New Yorkis 2.5 games ahead of the Sky and has won seven of its last 10 games, so the Sky could gain some ground with a win… Against Atlanta, New York got hot from three-point range, hitting 11 of 19 shots for a 58 percent clip. Chicago native Cappie Pondexter had 16 points and 5 assists for the Liberty… The Sky lost its most recent game because of a hot-shooting team. L.A. snapped a four-game losing streak by hitting 56 percent of its shots against the Sky. Reserve guard Erin Thorn had a team-high 17 points for the Sky while center Sylvia Fowles and guard Epiphanny Prince added 16 points apiece… The Sky, which leads the WNBA in turnovers at 18 per game, had a season-low 8 turnovers against the Sparks.

Next: Indiana Fever at Sky, 5 p.m. Sunday.