LOS ANGELES — As far as first games of the season go, it’s hard to get worse than this.
The Sparks never led in their opener against the Aces, who were likely fuming over their blowout loss against the Mercury on Saturday. While the Sparks were able to make it competitive at the halftime, the Aces ran away from them in the third and made it into a massacre. The Aces defeated the Sparks, 105-78.
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“They just punched us in the face,” Sparks guard Kelsey Plum flatly said. “We didn’t respond.”
Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts elaborated more about what happened after the second quarter.
“We uncharacteristically missed open looks. I think that kind of got in our heads a little bit. And then defensively, like (Kelsey Plum) said, they kind of (punched us in the face),” Roberts said.
Las Vegas outscored Los Angeles, 33-18, in the third. The fourth wasn’t great, either, as the Aces won that period, 30-19.
Meanwhile, the Sparks welcomed back Nneka Ogwumike, who had been a star with the team for the first 12 years of her career. While she appreciated the reception of her return, the big loss was on her mind.
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“It’s always great to be back here and I’m so grateful to be back where it all started, especially with Coach Lynne and KP and the squad that we have together,” Ogwumike said. “I was feeling the feels but all I can think about right now is how I feel like we disappointed the people that came to the home opener. Playing here, even, you know, before I left, like that just was not, that was not it.
“That’s not the standard that we operate by. I want to be on what KP is on. Y’all saw what she was doing in that second half, most of that fourth quarter. That is what needs to be happening from top to bottom. I know you asked me kind of a different question but that’s kind of what’s on my mind right now.”
Plum had a late surge, finishing with 27 points in the game. Even when down big, she tried her damnedest to keep L.A. in the contest.
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“It’s one thing to maybe (have) a tough shooting night, but overall, as a team and as a leader, I hear Nneka, like, I’m going to look in the mirror and figure out how to impact winning,” Plum said. “And defensively, we got to be better. We’re not the Los Angeles Sparks of last year so it’s (a) very disappointing showing. But the thing about this league is we play in a day or two. So we will fix that.”
It’s hard to find anything positive for the Sparks other than nearly evening the Aces at halftime with a 42-41 score. They will throw away this game and move on to the next one. Coach Roberts loves to live in the creed of “one game at a time” so they’re going to dust themselves off and try again.
The Sparks were led by Plum with 27 points while Ogwumike got a double-double in her first game as a Spark with 19 points and 10 boards. The Aces were led by Chennedy Carter, who basically dominated with her speed and elusiveness, with 22 points. Jackie Young had 20 points and nine dimes while A’ja Wilson had a “quiet” 19 points.
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Aces shot 62 percent from the field while the Sparks were not so great at 37 percent. Sometimes, the games come down to just making shots.
The Sparks will play the second of their four-game home stand against the Indiana Fever. Maybe this one will go a little better.
