The Sparks’ playoff chances took a hit with a 76-75 loss over the Fever on Friday night.
Rickea Jackson ended with eight points and three rebounds. Dearica Hamby had 11 points with seven rebounds and two assists. Azurá Stevens notched 17 points to go with her six rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks.
Advertisement
Rae Burrell had another productive game off the bench with 12 points. Cameron Brink had four points, five rebounds and two blocks. Julie Allemand pitched in with nine points, three rebounds and four assists.
It was a hot start for the Sparks, who jumped to a quick seven-point lead. Plum, Jackson and Stevens all scored. Indiana scored four straight points to cut the deficit, but Hamby countered with four of her own to keep L.A.’s lead intact.
Former Spark, Odyssey Sims, scored four points against her old teammates. After scoring on a layup, Jackson entered the 1,000 career point club.
At the first timeout, Los Angeles was up seven. After the break, Stevens drained her second 3-pointer of the quarter. The game was fast-paced with both teams playing aggressively.
Advertisement
Aerial Powers made a significant impact for the Fever off the bench with a quick five points. Indiana had cut the deficit to four with 24 seconds left, but a 3-pointer from Burrell gave the Sparks a seven-point lead at the end of the first.
Indiana started the second quarter playing well offensively. They scored four straight points to make it a three-point game. The Sparks allowed the Fever to grab five offensive rebounds.
After three more minutes of play Los Angeles still hadn’t scored a point in this period. Plum rectified it with a layup. Sims continued to dominate for Indiana, scoring six more points, pushing her point total to 16.
Plum converted on a reverse-layup and was still the only Spark to score in the quarter with 3:36 left until halftime. Rickea knocked down a much-needed 3-pointer to help keep L.A. up.
Indiana was now up to eight offensive rebounds. They also scored 16 points off of L.A.’s 11 turnovers. Despite the lack of offense, Los Angeles was up by three at halftime.
Advertisement
Julie Allemand scored on a layup to open up the third quarter. Aliyah Boston then scored four in a row to make it a one-point game.
Lexie Hull gave the Fever their first lead of the night at the 6:44 mark with a layup.
It was starting to look bleak for Los Angeles as Indiana was now up by five and had taken full momentum of the game. They were now up to 20 points scored off of Los Angeles’ 15 turnovers.
Burrell was subbed back in and brought her usual energy and fight. She put up three quick points to stop the 10-0 scoring run the Fever were on.
Los Angeles managed to score six more points, sparking some momentum. They were up by one heading into the fourth quarter.
Advertisement
The final frame began with a 3-pointer from Hull to give the Fever the lead again. Cameron Brink answered with a layup, tying the game. Stevens scored five points to help keep Los Angeles in it.
Both teams traded buckets and the lead with the quarter winding down. Stevens then converted on a three-point play to put the Sparks up by two. Natasha Howard made it a one-point game with a free throw.
Hamby then answered with a layup, forcing Indiana to call a timeout with 1:49 left in the game. Things were going well for the Sparks until Sims drained an insane 3-pointer to tie the game with 43 seconds left.
L.A. nearly turned the ball over, but Stevens was fouled and converted on one of two free throws, putting them up by one. Sims once again put the Fever back up with a runner down the paint.
Advertisement
Los Angeles now had 13.6 seconds left to do something special. They turned the ball over.
Key Takeaways:
Turnovers…stop the turnovers! Having 23 in a game is ridiculous.
Allowing the Fever to keep piling up the offensive rebounds handed them this win.
Burrell is the saving grace off the bench. Her endless energy, fight and grit always help this team when they are in dire need of a boost.
The Sparks’ next game will be Sunday against the Washington Mystics at 5:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
