The Portland Fire fell hard to the Los Angeles Sparks, 104-85, on Sunday evening on the road. The Fire weren’t very sharp on the offensive end, while the Sparks were especially electric from deep, overwhelming a short-handed Portland in their second-to-last game. Portland’s Carla Leite led all scores with 23 points, while Rae Burrell and Nneka Ogwumike had 20 apiece for the Sparks.
Good starts from Leite and Karlie Samuelson helped the Fire keep it close early. It would have been better for the Fire but
for a wide discrepancy in three-pointers. Portland were 1 for 8 from deep in the first quarter for 12.5%, while the Sparks were 5 for 12 for 41.7%. The Fire were only down by two points at the end of one, a modest deficit all things considered. Rebounding was where the Fire made up for the missed shots from range, out-boarding the Sparks 15 to 5 in the quarter.
Things started to slip away from the Fire in the second quarter. The Sparks suddenly remembered how to rebound, and their threes kept dropping. That, coupled with some Portland turnovers, meant the Fire found themselves behind by seven with 5:58 left in the half. It wouldn’t get better. In less than two more minutes of game clock, Los Angeles built the lead to 14. A four-point play and a runout from Nyadiew Puoch gave the Fire some energy, but the reprieve was temporary. The Sparks quickly regained the initiative, and the half finished 60-41 in favor of Los Angeles behind nine made three-pointers.
Nothing in the second half could change the trajectory of the game. The Fire played hard as they always do, and they didn’t let the margin get significantly worse, but the game had been basically decided by half time.
Here’s what stood out.
So Many Missed Layups
Not for the first time this season, the Fire did themselves no favors with blown layups and other missed shots from close. Portland missed eight shots in, or just next to, the restricted area in the first half , and finished the game with 11 close-in misses. That rate of getting position and coming up empty isn’t sustainable.
Carla Leite
What can we say that hasn’t already been said? Leite was basically the Fire’s only source of points for much of the game, the only player on the team in double-figures until 52 seconds left in the third quarter. In an evening when things weren’t going well for the team, Leite was attacking the rim with reckless abandon, earning nearly three times as many free throw attempts as any teammate. She’s been an inspiration all season, and her future with the Fire looks bright for the foreseeable future.
Defending the Three-Point Line
The Sparks both had more attempts from three than the Fire and shot a much higher percentage, at 48.3% versus 22.2%. That’s a deadly combination. It’s not that the Fire weren’t closing out; give the Sparks credit for making some difficult threes. What Portland failed to do was deny the three-point line. When the game was still contested, Los Angeles was finding players with enough space to get up a shot from beyond the arc, and with their makes they ran away with the game. At that moment, the Fire needed to change the rhythm of the Sparks offense, and they failed to get it done.
Emily Engstler
How about the Portland Fire power forward doing something that’s never been done in the WNBA before? After today’s game she has 61 blocks, 61 steals, and 54 made three-pointers on the season. That makes her the first WNBA player ever to get 60 blocks, 60 steals and 50 made three pointers in a season. That’s impressive!
Box Score
Up Next
One more game for the 2026 Portland Fire. It’ll be a home matchup that puts a bow on the season as they go against the Golden State Valkyries, a team still in the hunt for the overall top seed in the playoffs. Game time is Tuesday at 7:00 PM Pacific.
