LOS ANGELES — For the last three games, everything looked dim for the Sparks. They looked lethargic in their last three games. Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink aren’t coming back anytime soon. Everything was heading towards their doom.
But the Sparks sure had the cure for the Fever. They mustered up all the medication they could take on Wednesday night’s contest and the Sparks won handily, 106-92.
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It looked bleak early as the Sparks got down, 25-15. But after that, the team from L.A. scratched, clawed, bit, punched, and kicked everything in sight. They were getting all the 50-50 balls. They were getting on the passing lanes. They eventually started to get breaks; in one moment, a tipped pass by Nneka Ogwumike ended up in the hands of Alissa Pili for an easy lay-up.
It all came down… to playing hard.
“Yeah, we wanted to play hard,” Ogwumike said. “We wanted to own each possession and to compete at every level for the full 40 minutes of play. It’s really that simple. I think when you put your heart into playing that hard, the schemes, the plays, the execution, it comes to fruition. And tonight, it felt good emptying the tank as well. Just ensuring that anybody who was on the court was doing everything possible to make sure that we could win the possession.”
The Sparks took advantage of the Fever missing Aliyah Boston, who was scratched for Wednesday due to a leg injury. Los Angeles sparkled in the paint, scoring 60 points in the key compared to 38 by the Fever. A lot of that came down to transition play.
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“Yeah, I said to my staff, I’m happy we won obviously but I’m more happy with how we played,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “The response that we showed from just laying an egg on Monday to coming back. We talked about playing more connected, having a little more smarts out there, defensively emptying the tank, getting out and running and playing with pace. We had 27 fastbreak points (Fever had 4). We were rebounding and running and that’s what we want to do. So I’m obviously thrilled we won but I’m more happy with how we played.”
All five starters scored in double figures for the Sparks.
“I thought the ball movement was much, much better. 24 assists,” Roberts beamed. “We didn’t have too many where we were forcing. The ball was moving. When we play like that, like I talked about pregame media, you take better shots. You take better shots to have a better chance of going in. I thought we shared the ball well tonight. You could see there was a different energy and connectedness on offense. The result of that is balanced scoring.”
Ogwumike even gave a shoutout to her “rookie”, Rae Burrell. Burrell was drafted by the Sparks in 2022.
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“I’m very proud of her. I was here when she joined the team,” Ogwumike said. “I witnessed some serious adversity that she had to go through. For her to establish herself as, I think, a future all-star of this league. A future all-defensive player, for sure. Just seeing her maturity each day getting better. Not just on the court but also maturing as a woman in this league.
“Rae Rae is one of those players that brings a lot of light into a room,” Ogwumike continued. “She can really change the temperature of a room. I’m very proud to see how much she’s been improving. This is just the beginning.”
The Sparks were led by Ogwumike’s 24 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Burrell scored 22 while Dearica Hamby had 21. The 106 points scored broke a Sparks franchise record for most points in a home game.
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For the Fever, they were led by Kelsey Mitchell with 29 points and Lexie Hull with 14. Caitlin Clark did play but was on a minutes restriction; she had nine points in 15 minutes of play.
A lot of effort. Emptying the tank. And getting everybody involved. Sometimes, the formula can be that simple. And if they can repeat that against the Sky on Friday, the Sparks (9-11) should be all right.
