A wild, wild fourth quarter run saw the Sparks cut a 28-point deficit down to one point, but the Liberty held on for an 85-81 win.
Through the first three quarters, the Sparks had 41 points before exploding for 40 in the fourth. Included in that was 21 unanswered points and a 26-4 run overall. However, after pulling to within one possession, LA came up empty down the stretch, unable to complete the comeback.
Jonquel Jones was the first to get on the board with a putback layup off her own missed shot.
Rae Burrell was on fire early for LA, draining two triples to put the Sparks in the lead. The Liberty, meanwhile, were just 1-7 from the field to start.
Breanna Stewart went on a 6-0 scoring run to put New York in front.
The Liberty were now shooting 45% from the field, while Los Angeles was shooting 37%. Dearica Hamby was the only other Spark to score on a hook shot. Cameron Brink provided strong defense with two blocks.
At the 1:58 mark, LA was down by nine.
Jones and Stewart combined for 12 of the Liberty’s first 19 points. Chance Gray drained two 3-pointers off the bench, helping keep Los Angeles in it. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were down by five.
The Sparks allowed Marine Johannes to score a three to start the second period. Their defense was lackluster, allowing too many second-chance opportunities for New York. Jones had nine rebounds in the half.
With 6:06 left in the half, the Liberty had a 10-point lead. Pauline Astier ignited for five points for New York. Their lead had grown to 16 until Brink and Erica Wheeler combined for a quick six points for Los Angeles.
The Liberty responded by closing the half with seven of the final 11 points for a 17-point lead into halftime.
Sabrina Ionescu opened the third period with a midrange jumper. Hamby scored for LA on a layup. Los Angeles had zero answers for Rebecca Allen’s hot shooting as she drained her third triple of the game. At the 6:35 mark, it was an 18-point deficit for the Sparks.
New York was destroying the Sparks on the glass, 38-27. The Liberty was also up 16-2 in second-chance points. LA continued to look discombobulated, turning the ball over and failing to find any rhythm.
At the end of the third, Los Angeles was down by 26 after only scoring nine points in the quarter.
The Sparks had a strong start to the final frame with Burrell scoring six points and Jihyun Park knocking down a 3-pointer. LA had cut the deficit down to 19 with 8:55 left in the game.
Los Angeles’s scoring run ballooned to an insane 19-0 run, trimming the deficit to single digits, as New York continued to be ice cold from the field. Burrell was leading the Sparks with 19 points.
Brink then converted on a midrange jumper to make it a seven-point game. Unfortunately, she suffered an injury after drawing an offensive foul on Breanna Stewart and had to be helped off the floor to the locker room.
Ionescu put New York on the board with a layup after being scoreless for four minutes.
Burrell’s incredible night continued as she put up five more points. A free throw from Nneka Ogwumike made it a three-point game with 3:50 left.
Ionescu was fouled and completed the three-point play to push New York’s lead to six. Burrell and Ionescu were putting their teams on their backs.
Nneka and Stewart exchanged baskets, making it a six-point game with 1:59 left. Ariel Atkins drained her first triple and first basket of the night to make it a three-point game.
Johannes then converted on a layup on the other end to extend the Liberty’s lead to five with 1:13 left.
Hamby scored on a layup to make it a one-possession game again. The Sparks then stole an inbounds pass from New York and called a timeout with 26.6 seconds left. Out of the break, Burrell scored on a layup to make it a one-point game.
With 14.8 seconds left, Ionescu was fouled and converted on both, making it a three-point game. Atkins had an opportunity to tie it, but missed the shot. Ionescu was fouled again with 3.2 seconds left and converted on a free throw to seal the win.
Key Player Stats
Burrell ended with 28 points on 10-19 shooting and 5-10 shooting from 3-point range. Hamby finished with 16 points and four rebounds. Nneka Ogwumike had a slow game with just 10 points but did grab 11 rebounds.
Brink pitched in with nine points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Gray logged six points off the bench. Wheeler scored six points with five assists.
The Sparks’ next game will be against the Washington Mystics on Saturday at 4:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
