Elena Delle Donne sat out Friday night's Game 3 of the Washington Mystics' WNBA semifinals series against the Atlanta Dream because of a bone bruise in her left knee.
The Mystics labored without their leading scorer, shooting 36 percent from the field and 5-of-23 on 3-point attempts Friday. The Dream won 81-76 to take a 2-1 series lead.
Delle Donne, the 2015 MVP and an All-Star captain earlier this year, dressed for the game and sat on the bench. She did not walk with a discernible limp, but was deliberate with her gait going to and from the locker room.
With Delle Donne out and the Mystics in experimental mode Friday, Aerial Powers played extended minutes at power forward for the first time this season and led Washington with a season-high 18 points.
"We couldn't completely change our offense because we didn't know if Elena was going to play until today," said center LaToya Sanders, who had 12 points and six blocked shots. "We did what we could this morning. We kind of just played on the fly today. It worked in some moments, but you could see how new it was for us in certain moments especially on the defensive end."
Delle Donne injured her knee in the fourth quarter of a 78-75 loss in Game 2 on Tuesday.
Delle Donne slipped as she was driving with the ball, and her leg bent backward. She took a few more steps before collapsing next to the basket stanchion. After a timeout with just over three minutes remaining, she left the court with assistance from her teammates.
Delle Donne had 27 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists when she was injured. She had 32 points in leading the Mystics to an 87-84 Game 1 victory on Sunday.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
