A roller-coaster 18 hours culminated on Sunday afternoon for the Los Angeles Sparks when they snapped a six-game losing skid with their 106-101 defeat of the host Portland Fire.
News of Los Angeles (11-17) trading All-Star guard Kelsey Plum to Phoenix broke early Sunday morning ahead of a back-and-forth matinee contest with Portland that came down to the final minute.
The Fire (11-19), trying to end their own four-game losing streak, took a 96-95 lead on Megan DiLeo’s 3-pointer with 92 seconds remaining in regulation. Portland’s advantage lasted only seven seconds, as Erica Wheeler dished one of her game-high-tying eight assists to an open Nneka Ogwumike, who answered with a 3-pointer of her own.
The rapid exchange of triples set the tone for a furious closing salvo in which the two sides combined for 19 points in the final 92 seconds.
The Sparks held the lead throughout the closing stretch, building a four-point buffer when Ogwumike fed a cutting Dearica Hamby for a layup.
Portland pulled to within one point with 20.9 seconds remaining on the seventh and final Bridget Carleton made 3-pointer on 13 attempts. She scored a game-high 24 points.
The Fire shot 15-of-37 from deep (40.5%), but Los Angeles countered going 16-of-29 from beyond the arc (55.2%).
Ogwumike, who posted a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double, made 3 of 7 shots from 3-point range. Twenty of her points came in the second half.
Hamby also had a double-double, scoring a team-high 23 points to go with 10 rebounds. Ariel Atkins scored all 12 of her points on 4-of-7 3-point shooting.
All five Los Angeles starters scored in double-figures, with Wheeler reaching 12 points down the stretch thanks to four clutch free throws on take fouls which effectively put the game away.
Wheeler also led the Sparks’ defensive effort with three steals. Los Angeles forced 14 Portland turnovers in total, turning them in 19 points.
The most critical of those came when Carleton coughed up possession down three with 16.8 seconds left. The Fire never got a look at a potential game-tying shot.
–Field Level Media
