Rickea Jackson poured in 25 points, Kelsey Plum added 25 points and 11 assists and the host Los Angeles Sparks snapped the Indiana Fever’s five-game winning streak with a 100-91 decision on Tuesday.
Azura Stevens scored 19 points and went 5-for-5 from 3-point range while Dearica Hamby scored 16 points for the Sparks (13-15), who have won seven of eight.
Los Angeles shot a torrid 56.1 percent from the field (37 of 66), just shy of its season high, and 50 percent from 3-point range (13 of 26). Cameron Brink didn’t score for the Sparks but contributed five blocked shots in just 16 minutes of action.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 21 of her 34 points in the second half to guide Indiana’s attempted comeback. Natasha Howard had 17 points and seven rebounds, Aliyah Boston posted 15 points and nine rebounds and Aari McDonald chipped in 15 points and six assists for the Fever (17-13).
Caitlin Clark (groin) remained out for Indiana.
The Fever trailed 76-64 entering the fourth quarter and quickly cut the margin to 10. The Sparks responded as Plum, Jackson, Julie Allemand and Rae Burrell contributed to a 9-0 run.
Boston put in a layup for the Fever, but Jackson went back to work for Los Angeles. She made a putback of her own miss, then Burrell stole an Indiana lob pass and set Jackson up for a 3-pointer that made it 90-68 at the 6:23 mark.
Indiana stormed back thanks to the hot hands of Mitchell, who knocked down two 3-pointers and another jumper, and McDonald, who sank back-to-back 3-pointers to cut it to 95-89 with 2:09 to play. however, Stevens answered with a triple with 1:17 left, and the Sparks held on.
The Sparks made their first three 3-point tries of the game. The Fever cobbled together a 10-point run to take a 21-15 lead, but they led only 27-26 after one quarter.
Hamby dominated in the paint during a second quarter that saw the Sparks make 11 of 17 shots from the field. Los Angeles went ahead 49-38 with 2:57 left in the half, the first double-digit margin of the game.
Play was briefly stopped late in the first half when a spectator threw a sex toy onto the court, the third such instance in the WNBA in recent weeks.
–Field Level Media
