Sparks drop final game of road trip against Mercury

The Sparks add another loss to their losing streak, dropping their seventh in a row Friday night against the Phoenix Mercury.

A strong start for the Sparks dwindled in the third and they lost, 92-78 to the Phoenix Mercury. They ended their long seven-game road trip winless.

Dearica Hamby had another dominant game, scoring 29 points with seven rebounds and three assists. Kia Nurse ended with nine points, three assists and three steals.

Rickea Jackson put up 14 points with six rebounds, two assists and a steal. Aari McDonald had a huge game facilitating, dishing 10 assists with 12 points.

The Sparks started fast, unlike their other games, where they’ve usually started slow. Both teams were great offensively, trading leads. Hamby dominated early for Los Angeles and Jackson continued her impressive play, shooting 50% from the field and perfect from behind the arc.

McDonald was putting on a passing clinic with six assists in the quarter. Neither team established any big scoring runs and at the end of the first, the Sparks were up three.

There was no denying the excellent energy the Sparks were showing in the first half. For a team so injury-riddled, they were playing with pose and a determination to get the win. The Mercury did pick up their defense, making the Sparks work extra hard for their shots in the second quarter.

All the momentum favored the Sparks, who jumped to a seven-point lead, while Hamby was a perfect 4-4 from behind the arc. A quick 4-0 Mercury run had them snatching some momentum and cutting LA’s lead down to three.

Although the Sparks were scoring, Phoenix managed to have the answers each time it seemed LA was jumping ahead. As we’ve seen on many occasions this season, LA’s spark started to fade as the Mercury cut the deficit to one at the end of the half.

Phoenix grabbed the lead by one after both teams had a slow start to the second half. Neither team could establish distance whenever they had the lead.

For most of the season, we’ve seen the Sparks lose themselves in the third quarter and have to claw their way back from being down big, but this time, they were still in it and fighting to maintain momentum.

The Mercury grabbed their biggest lead of the night, going up by six, and suddenly nervous time was slowly approaching for the Sparks, who couldn’t afford to go down by more. Hamby’s incredible play was keeping LA alive.

At the four-minute mark, Los Angeles’ bench had only scored eight points, which was unusual considering their strong play of late. Phoenix maintained the lead throughout and the Sparks found themselves in their usual hole, down double digits.

The final frame began with the Mercury adding to their lead and the Sparks having to claw their way back from being down big. LA's only form of dominance throughout the quarter was Hamby trying to carry the team on her back with her strong play.

Hamby was one of only three Sparks players in double digits and that was the main reason why the team couldn’t maintain what was a strong start. The Phoenix Mercury dominated the entire second half and the Sparks couldn’t find the magic to spark a comeback.

Key Takeaways:

The Sparks started this game looking great, but their habit of losing steam in the second half continued. They have to find a way to keep momentum so they don’t have to claw their way back in the second half.

Hamby had an MVP performance, but there’s only so much she can do alone.

LA’s bench underperformed and they can’t afford to have that happen. The starting five and bench need to perform great at the same time.

The turnovers continue. Don’t let them continue! What more can we say?

The Sparks’ next contest will be Tuesday against the Washington Mystics at 7:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.