The Sparks hold on in a tight battle with the Seattle Storm to win 88-83 on Wednesday night. They are now 2-2 in Commissioner’s Cup play.
LA showed great defensive effort once again, with four blocks and 10 steals as a team. They also won the rebounding battle 46-40. The team outscored Seattle by six in the fourth quarter to solidify their win.
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Los Angeles was ice cold to start the game, missing five shots and going down by seven. Dominique Malonga scored five straight points for Seattle. LA responded with a massive 10-0 scoring run, which began with Nneka Ogwumike converting on two free throws. Kelsey Plum drilled back-to-back triples.
At the 5:57 mark, the purple and gold were up by three.
Katie Lou Samuelson stopped the bleeding for the Storm with a 3-pointer. Seattle was able to grab the lead again after four straight points, but the Sparks responded to retake the lead. Cameron Brink scored a huge eight points off the bench.
With the first quarter coming to a close, Jordan Horston splashed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, cutting LA’s lead to five.
Erica Wheeler started the second period with a crafty layup for Los Angeles. The Storm continued to cut into the deficit with Zia Cooke scoring six points, making it a two-point game. Seattle’s rookie Flau’jae Johnson scored her first points of the half on a layup.
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It was a three-point game at the 5:27 mark.
Plum started heating up, scoring on two consecutive layups to keep LA ahead. As they’ve done already in the half, the Storm responded with a run that tied the game. Malonga and Johnson combined for seven points in what was a 9-0 scoring run for Seattle.
Johnson gave the Storm the lead with a midrange jumper.
Wheeler responded with a big 3-pointer to stop some of the bleeding. Seattle had been up by three, but Rae Burrell tied the game at halftime with a buzzer-beating triple.
Dearica Hamby scored on a layup to start the third period. Seattle then scored six points in a row to take a four-point lead. The Storm were on fire, extending their run to 11-0, forcing a timeout by the Sparks.
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Both teams exchanged triples. Nneka scored a much-needed five points for Los Angeles.
She added four more points to what was now 15 total points for the night. She made it a three-point deficit for LA with 1:21 left, until Johnson was fouled and extended Seattle’s lead to five.
At the end of the third, the Sparks were within one.
Brink drained a big-time 3-pointer to put LA in the lead by two to start the final frame. Fam responded with a triple on the other end to put Seattle back in the lead. At the 5:41 mark, Los Angeles was up by two. Ariel Atkins extended the lead to four for the Sparks.
Three players in the purple and gold were in double figures.
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Seattle had been on a nearly five-minute scoring drought when Natisha Hiedeman scored two. Now with 2:43 left, Hiedeman converted on two free throws to cut the deficit to four.
Wheeler drained a big-time 3-pointer to extend Los Angeles’ lead. The teams exchanged baskets until, with 1:09 left, Plum airballed a three. Horston scored on a jumper on the other end.
It was now a three-point lead for the Sparks with 54 seconds left. Plum missed a shot, and on the other end, Hamby was called for a foul that LA challenged and won. They still had possession of the ball, but Plum, unfortunately, missed a triple.
With 12.1 seconds left, the Storm had the ball but missed what would have been a game-tying three. Now with 2.6 seconds left, Los Angeles had the ball again, and Wheeler was fouled, converting on both free throws to seal the win.
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Key Player Stats
Plum finished with 19 points, 11 assists and four steals. Nneka ended with a season-high 24 points and nine rebounds. Wheeler pitched in with 10 points.
Hamby had a slow offensive game with six points, but finished with 10 rebounds. Brink had 15 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Ariel Atkins scored seven points with six rebounds and three assists. Burrell logged four points with two rebounds.
The Sparks’ next game will be against the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday at 7:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
