Lynx pull away in fourth to hand Sparks 10th defeat of season

Despite a valiant fight from the Sparks, the Lynx used a big fourth quarter to pull away for another win over LA.

Facing a Lynx team without Napheesa Collier, the Sparks nearly took advantage. After playing close for the opening three quarters, LA faltered in the fourth as Minnesota pulled away for an 82-66 win.

Azurá Stevens scored 11 points, grabbed nine rebounds, dished three dimes and had two blocks. Dearica Hamby ended with 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and four steals. Kelsey Plum pitched in with 15 points, three rebounds and four assists. Shey Peddy had six points and two steals. Rickea Jackson scored nine points.

The Lynx jumped out to an eight-point lead early on. Courtney William shouldered the offensive load with five points. The Sparks only took two shots and turned the ball over four times.

Azurá got the Sparks on the board by scoring the first eight points for LA. Dearica eventually helped with a three-point play.

Kayla McBride was playing well for the Lynx, scoring eight points as the quarter was winding down. Kelsey and Rickea scored a combined five points to help keep L.A. within five to end the first.

The second quarter looked better for the Sparks as they found rhythm with their offense. Dearica scored four points early on to help cut down the deficit. The Sparks went up by two after a 3-pointer by Kelsey and was now the leading scorer with nine points.

The Sparks had extended their strong scoring run to 11-2 before Maria Kliundikova scored a 3-pointer to halt the spurt.

Both teams got hot and started making their shots, which in turn had them exchanging the lead more than five times. At the end of the quarter, Kelsey threw up a buzzer-beating layup off the glass to give the Sparks the lead by one at halftime.

Los Angeles was demolishing Minnesota in the paint with 22 points to their eight.

A pair of free throws opened things up for the Sparks in the second half. Los Angeles still had momentum and looked more energetic than they did in the first. They continued to push the ball into the paint, now up to 26 points, while the Lynx were only at 10 points.

Shedy was a big reason why the Sparks still had the lead. She was cooking with six points early in the quarter.

Minnesota began to ignite their offense with a collection of players scoring throughout the frame, giving themselves a three-point lead. Rickea had a rough first half as she couldn’t find consistency with her shot, but she rectified that by scoring five points in the third.

At the end of the period, Minnesota’s Diamond Miller scored a buzzer-beating layup to give the Lynx a three-point lead. They closed the quarter on a 9-3 scoring run.

Liatu King opened the final frame with a layup off the glass. Neither team had yet to build a double-digit lead. Sarah Ashlee Barker scored her first points of the game with a layup. There were a combined five turnovers between the teams as they played sloppily in an attempt to find their offensive footing.

Out of a timeout, Minnesota went up nine on the shoulders of McBride, who scored six straight points, and Williams, who scored on a midrange jumper. There were four minutes left in the game, and it was beginning to slip away from the Sparks.

The Lynx went up double digits as they started to pull away. McBride was unconscious from the field, single-handedly taking over and scoring 15 points in the quarter.

At the 1:20 mark, the Sparks waved the white flag, emptying their bench.

Key Takeaways:

Without Collier lighting it up for the Lynx, the Sparks had been able to hold their own after a slow start to the game. They couldn’t keep their foot on the gas pedal long enough, though.

The Sparks’ next game will be Tuesday against the Chicago Sky at 5:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.