LOS ANGELES — The LA Sparks could not complete the series sweep Sunday, falling to the Toronto Tempo 106-96 in a rematch that got away from them early. A relentless Brittney Sykes torched LA for 38 points, the whistle blew all night long, and a Sparks defense that needed answers came up empty. LA drops to 1-3 on the season and now heads into its first road trip Thursday in Phoenix with some serious work to clean up after splitting the home series with Toronto.
Sykes Did Whatever She Wanted
There is no other way to say it. Brittney Sykes put on a career-high performance the Sparks had no answer for, finishing with 38 points and three steals while converting every crunch-time possession Toronto needed.
She hit threes, she attacked the rim, she drew fouls in transition, and by the fourth quarter she was simply running the game. The Tempo leaned on her every time LA threatened to cut into the deficit, and she delivered every time.
Foul Trouble Made It Worse
The box score tells one story. The foul sheet tells another. LA was in constant foul trouble from the opening quarter, and it cost them in ways that compounded all night. Rae Burrell picked up her sixth foul and was done.
Cameron Brink fouled out in the fourth with the Sparks still fighting. Erica Wheeler’s fifth personal foul took her off the floor at a critical moment.
Toronto converted at the line throughout, and every time LA needed a stop, another contributor was sitting with foul problems. The Sparks committed enough personal fouls to build a highlight reel of their own, and the Tempo made them pay with nearly every trip to the stripe.
Plum and Hamby Kept Fighting
The Sparks were not without their own bright spots. Kelsey Plum was relentless, finishing with 28 points and seven assists and doing everything she could to keep LA in the game through three quarters. Dearica Hamby was equally fierce on the interior, posting 21 points and refusing to let Toronto have an easy night on the boards.
Nneka Ogwumike added 17, including a fourth-quarter three that briefly closed the gap. But every LA run ran into a Sykes answer, and with foul trouble rotating contributors in and out, the Sparks could never build any real momentum.
A Lead That Never Came
LA trailed by six after the first quarter and by nine at halftime, and the margin grew in the third. The Sparks clawed to within 12 in the fourth before Toronto pulled away for good. Kate Martin gave LA a boost off the bench with 11 points, but it was not enough to overcome a Tempo team that protected leads efficiently and made the most of every LA miscue.
The Sparks finished with multiple turnovers across all four quarters, and Toronto converted them into easy baskets in transition.
The Sparks now carry a 1-3 record into a road trip that opens Thursday night against the Phoenix Mercury. If the defense does not tighten up, this stretch is going to get longer fast.
KEY PERFORMANCES
LA Sparks: Kelsey Plum 28 PTS, 7 AST | Dearica Hamby 21 PTS | Nneka Ogwumike 17 PTS | Kate Martin 11 PTS | Cameron Brink 7 PTS
Toronto Tempo: Brittney Sykes 38 PTS, 3 STL | Kiki Rice 19 PTS | Marina Mabrey 14 PTS | Kia Nurse 10 PTS |