The Sparks held off the attempted comeback by the expansion Toronto Tempo for a 99-95 win on Friday night.
LA began the game with a big-time 10-0 scoring run. Nneka Ogwumike had five of those points, with Rae Burrell and Dearica Hamby scoring three and two, respectively. Brittney Sykes scored first for Toronto on a midrange jumper.
Burrell now had six points, after draining another triple. The Tempo continued to struggle to find an offensive rhythm. Los Angeles maintained a double-digit lead.
Hamby was the first Spark in double figures with 10 points. Nneka and Burrell were close behind with seven and eight, respectively. Former UCLA star Kiki Rice was subbed in for the Tempo and knocked down a 3-pointer.
At the end of the first, the purple and gold were up by 11.
Toronto’s Marina Mabrey opened the second period with a layup. The Tempo were on their own 10-0 run, since the end of the third, to make it a single-digit deficit. Burrell stopped that run for a moment by converting on one of two free throws.
Former Spark Julie Allemand scored on a long two on the other end.
LA was on a five-minute scoring drought until Kelsey Plum ended it with a 3-pointer. Erica Wheeler was the only starter for Los Angeles who hadn’t scored yet. Nneka, Burrell, and Hamby were all in double figures.
Toronto called a timeout, and out of the break, Rice drained a 3-pointer.
Sykes stole the ball on the other end and took it to the basket for two, cutting the deficit to seven. She was leading the Tempo with 10 points. At halftime, the Sparks were up by eight.
Both teams started the third period missing their first shot attempts. Hamby scored five points for the Sparks to get them on the board first in the quarter. Toronto was still looking for some offense to show up in this second half.
Plum added one of her signature layups, giving her 11 points for the game.
The lead kept climbing and climbing for LA. They were in front by 17 with 6:19 left in the period. Los Angeles was shooting a redhot 60% from the field on the night. The Sparks were winning the points in the paint battle, 32 to 14.
Erica Wheeler drained a triple, adding to the offensive onslaught from LA.
Rice knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Tempo their first points in the quarter. Toronto began to find its tempo (pun intended) after Laura Juskaite splashed a 3-pointer. Mabrey and Rice added seven combined points, trying to cut into their deficit.
Toronto was within 11, heading into the fourth quarter.
Nneka started the final frame catching a lob from Wheeler for a layup. The Tempo were heating up to dangerous levels, chipping away at LA’s lead. They got to within six on the shoulders of Sykes and Nyara Sabally, who was having a strong game with 12 points.
Plum put Los Angeles on her back, draining two timely triples amidst Toronto’s surge. At the 5:43 mark, the Sparks were nursing a six-point lead. After Juskaite converted on a layup, the Sparks scored five in a row.
Both teams exchanged layups, but it was followed by a 3-pointer from Maria Conde that made it a four-point game with 2:49 left. Out of a break, the Sparks turned the ball over, and Sykes scored on a layup on the other end.
The Tempo had a defensive breakdown, leaving Nneka wide open in the paint. She was also fouled and completed the three-point play. With two minutes left, LA was up five.
Sykes converted on free throws, and on the other end, Plum converted on one of two. Plum continued her dominant quarter, scoring on a floater to put Los Angeles up by six with 1:01 left. She had 18 points in this half.
Burrell not only picked up a technical foul, but she also fouled Sabally. Sykes converted on the technical free throw, and Sabally made both her free throws. It was now a three-point game with 55.3 seconds left.
Plum had the ball and wasted time on the clock. She then pulled up for a midrange jumper and missed. Mabrey had the ball on the other end and missed a 3-pointer. Plum was then fouled and converted on both, making it a two-possession game with 13.8 seconds left, sealing the win.
Key Player Stats
Plum scored a massive 27 points with nine assists and three steals. Nneka finished with 20 points, five rebounds and three assists. Hamby ended with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Burrell pitched in with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Erica Wheeler stepped into the starting lineup in place of Ariel Atkins and pitched in with 10 points, two rebounds and seven assists. Brink had 10 points and three rebounds. Her one block for the night put her 10th in Sparks history in blocks.
The Sparks’ next game will be against the Toronto Tempo on Sunday at 4:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
