A spirited second-half rally by the Sparks came up short on Monday in Atlanta as they fell to the Dream, 101-92.
After trailing by 11 at halftime, LA rallied in the fourth to take the lead. However, a late response by the Dream saw them pull away with a decisive run down the stretch, ending the brief two-game winning streak for the Sparks.
Rhyne Howard got the offense going early for Atlanta, converting on a layup to start the game. Erica Wheeler responded on the other end with a layup of her own, off the assist from Nneka Ogwumike. Angel Reese had a solid start for the Dream with four points.
At the 5:35 mark, the Sparks were up by two.
LA was shooting 38% from the field, while Atlanta was shooting 50%. Los Angeles had only drained one triple out of five attempts, while the Dream missed all three of their attempts. Atlanta had gone on a 10-0 scoring run, but the Sparks responded on the shoulders of Rae Burrell, who had eight points.
Kiana Williams drained a triple to cut LA’s deficit to four at the end of the first.
Emma Cannon started the second period with a 3-pointer for Los Angeles. It jump-started a 7-0 Sparks run to take the lead. It was short-lived, though, as the Dream responded with their own run to retake the lead.
LA was forced to call a timeout. Out of the break, Ariel Atkins converted on a layup.
Jordin Canada splashed a triple for the Dream. Wheeler scored five straight, cutting the deficit for Los Angeles to two with 4:56 left. The Sparks were now 5-11 from behind the arc.
Isobel Borlase was having a big game off the bench for the Dream with 10 points. Despite shooting 62% in the quarter, the purple and gold struggled defensively and were down by 11 at halftime.
Both teams missed their first shot attempts to start the third period. Atkins put the Sparks on the board first with a layup. Allisha Gray responded with a 3-pointer on the other end.
Nneka drained her second 3-pointer of the game. Dearica Hamby was now up to six points for LA after a slow first half.
At the 5:48 mark, Los Angeles was down by six.
The deficit went down to four, but Atlanta picked up their offense once more, going on an 11-3 scoring run to retake the lead. Inconsistent defense and 13 turnovers were ruining a good offensive game from the Sparks.
Los Angeles responded well, thanks to Hamby and Cannon’s combined four points. Going into the fourth period, LA was down by eight.
Atlanta started the final frame by turning the ball over, leading to a layup by Burrell on the other end. Atkins also converted on a layup, further cutting into the deficit. After a pair of free throws from Wheeler, it was a two-point game.
The Dream called a timeout after Burrell converted on a layup to tie the game.
Out of the break, Reese was fouled and converted on both free throws. Wheeler answered on the other end with a layup, tying it again. She then stole the ball and passed to Hamby, who converted on a layup to put the Sparks in the lead.
With 4:07 left, it was a tie game once more.
Reese knocked down a massive triple, putting the Dream back in the lead. She followed that up by converting on a pair of free throws after being fouled, further extending the lead for Atlanta with 2:42 left. Canada converted on a layup as well for the Dream.
The game was slipping away from LA quickly as they were now down by seven with 1:56 left. Wheeler knocked down a much-needed three, but it wasn’t enough as Atlanta extended their scoring run to 14-3 with 35.9 seconds left.
Wheeler had another strong game with 20 points, three rebounds and four assists. Nneka finished with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists. Burrell notched 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
Hamby had 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks. Atkins scored 13 points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Cannon and Williams pitched in with five points each off the bench.
The Sparks’ next game will be against the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday at 10:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.