The Portland Fire took down the Toronto Tempo 97-83 on Thursday at the Moda Center to snap a five-game losing streak. A fourth quarter surge by the Tempo threatened a massive Fire lead, but it was too little, too late for Toronto to complete the comeback.
Portland was led by guard Carla Leite’s 27-point, 11-assist double-double. Center Megan DiLeo added 17 points, and forward Bridget Carleton finished with her own double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Tempo were led by forward Nyara Sabally’s
17 points. Forward Laura Juskaite added 12 points to finish second on the team.
Below are some key takeaways from the Fire win.
The Leite Show
Carla. Leite.
The second-year point guard was amazing once again. She shot just 5 of 12 from the field, but lived at the free throw line where she made 15 of 17 attempts. Her ability to consistently draw fouls and punish defenses gives the Fire offense a chance to score every time she touches the ball. She made 2 of 5 attempts from behind the arc in the game to force the defense to stay honest. The three-level scoring she demonstrates make her a tough mark. Play up on her and she’ll drive right through the defender’s chest. But guard the drive and she can drain a jumper right in a defender’s eyes.
That’s not to mention the playmaking ability. The 11 assists she recorded in this contest mark her third game with double-digit assists out of the last five. In just her second season, she has already grown into a player that looks like she could be the hub of a good offense in the future.
Mid-Game Surge
After a tightly contested first quarter that saw the Fire hold just a small two-point advantage, that lead ballooned up quickly, peaking at a 27-point advantage in the third quarter. The Portland defense smothered Toronto, holding them to just 29 points through about 19 minutes of the second and third quarters. This included a 17-6 run to end the first half that truly broke the game wide open in the Fire’s favor.
Everything was going right for Portland as they forced misses, drew fouls and got out in transition. The end result was an insurmountable lead heading into the fourth quarter, even despite a:
Fourth-Quarter Slog
The Fire burned bright, but burned quickly it seemed in the fourth quarter. Their previous two quarters were dominant performances that built a massive lead. But in the fourth, at times, it looked downright sloppy. That culminated in a 17-2 run from Toronto in the middle of the final frame to pull the game’s outcome from “sure thing” to “there’s a small chance.” In the end, it was much too little, much too late for the Tempo to truly threaten the win, but the fear they put in the hearts of Portland fans, however brief, existed for a moment.
Now, at the end of the day, a win is a win. You can excuse a couple minutes of bad basketball in a blowout win. But it was still noteworthy how the script completely flipped for a couple minutes of an otherwise dominant showing for Portland.
Up Next
The Fire are at home again to take on the Seattle Storm at 5:30 p.m. PDT on Saturday.
