After beating the Tempo on Friday, the Sparks couldn’t replicate that result on Sunday. Instead, they lost to Toronto 106-96. Los Angeles is now 1-3 on the season.
Kelsey Plum got the offense going for LA early with a floater. Brittney Sykes responded soon after with a triple on the other end. It was Nyara Sabally, though, who was off to a hot start for Toronto with five points. Plum and Dearica Hamby combined for all 12 of Los Angeles points.
At the 4:33 mark, the game was tied. The Tempo were having
a much stronger offensive showing. In their last matchup, the Sparks never allowed Toronto to take the lead.
Rookie Chance Gray had a stellar showing off the bench with four points.
Two consecutive 3-pointers gave Toronto a good cushion in its lead. Cameron Brink had an impressive defensive stop that led to a layup for herself on the other end. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were down by six.
Sykes opened the second period with a layup for the Tempo. On the other end, Nneka Ogwumike responded with a midrange jumper. Kiki Rice countered by converting on a three-point play.
LA had a rough half controlling the ball, with six turnovers.
The lead ballowned to double figures for Toronto. Sparks rookie Jihyun Park scored her first career points on a layup. Los Angeles was forced to call a timeout. Out of the break, LA turned the ball over.
Kate Martin knocked down a much-needed triple for the Sparks, as they had only made one before it, after seven attempts.
LA was still down double digits as the half was winding down. Six players had two or more fouls for Los Angeles. The Sparks had gotten the deficit to six, but couldn’t hold on, going down by nine at halftime.
Marina Mabrey and Rice opened the third period with three combined points for the Tempo. Rae Burrell converted on a pair of free throws for LA’s first points in the quarter. Four in a row from Hamby made it a single-digit deficit for Los Angeles.
At the 5:22 mark, it was once again a double-digit lead for Toronto.
Sykes scored on a layup, which put her at 17 points for the game. She was leading the Tempo. Hamby was leading the Sparks with 13 points, and Nneka was close behind with nine points.
Rae Burrell, unfortunately, couldn’t get a single thing going as she was in foul trouble with five fouls. LA had gotten to within nine, thanks to Plum stepping up her offense and Hamby continuing her strong play.
Maria Conde drained a 3-pointer that gave Toronto a double-digit lead of 12 heading into the fourth period.
Brink opened the final frame with a layup for the Sparks. On the other end, Rice was fouled and converted on one of two free throws. LA needed to step up its defense without committing fouls. They now had two players with five personal fouls.
Martin scored on a layup off an assist from Plum, giving her a productive five off the bench. With 7:50 left, Los Angeles was trailing by 11. A surge of five points from the Sparks made it an eight-point game. Both teams then responded with back-to-back triples.
With three minutes left, it was a double-digit deficit for LA, until Nneka converted on a 3-pointer. Another two from Plum made it a seven-point game. The Tempo responded to make it a double-digit lead again, on the shoulders of Sykes, who was now at 36 points. With 1:06 left, Los Angeles had no more hope for a comeback.
Key Player Stats
Plum finished with 28 points and seven assists. Nneka ended with 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Hamby logged 21 points with nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Brink pitched in with seven points, two rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Gray had four points in 10 minutes of play off the bench. Martin added 11 points.
The Sparks’ next game will be against the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday at 7:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
