Two squads looking to stop losing streaks meet on Sunday when the Portland Fire host the Los Angeles Sparks.
Portland (11-18) dropped its fourth straight game Friday with a 112-98 setback against Indiana, a sour note to kick off the Fire’s five-game homestand.
Bridget Carleton scored 26 points on 7-for-11 shooting from 3-point range, and Portland hit 14 of 31 buckets from beyond the arc as a team, but the Fire’s ongoing defensive struggles proved insurmountable.
Friday’s loss marked the third time in Portland’s current skid that it surrendered more than 100 points, and fourth straight giving up at least 98.
“It’s solvable,” Carleton said after Friday’s contest. “One-hundred and twelve points is a lot, and most came off of our turnovers.”
With 20 turnovers committed against the Fever, the Fire are averaging 14.7 giveaways a game. Only Washington is allowing more with 15.6 turnovers per game.
As a result, Portland is allowing 91.6 points per game, more than all but two teams: Toronto at 93.6 and Los Angeles with 94.1.
The Sparks (10-17) owe much of their six-game slump to defensive woes. Los Angeles gave up 113 points its last time out in a four-point home loss to New York on Tuesday.
Despite shooting a blistering 16-for-31 from 3-point territory, including Erica Wheeler’s 4-for-5 effort, the Sparks allowed the Liberty to shoot 53.1% from deep (17-for-32).
Tuesday’s offensive surge did give a Los Angeles team that has been without Kelsey Plum throughout the skid some optimism, however.
“No moral victories, but … our pace was great. Execution was probably the best we’ve had in a long time,” head coach Lynne Roberts said.
The Sparks’ 109 points marked a season high in regulation and were evenly distributed among six double-digit scorers. Rae Burrell finished with 24, Wheeler had 17 and Ariel Atkins posted 16 to provide much-needed perimeter punch to complement Nneka Ogwumike (21) and Dearica Hamby (12).
Cameron Brink also added 11 points off the bench, her third game in double figures in the last five.
As the Sparks have had to adjust without Plum, rumors swirled this week that the guard is a trade candidate.
“Professional sports (are) business,” Plum said to reporters at Thursday’s practice. “People have to do what’s best for them, and I respect that.”
–Field Level Media
