LOS ANGELES — Dearica Hamby, Rickea Jackson and Kelsey Plum combined for 66 points for the Sparks, but the team could not overcome the Phoenix Mercury’s crisp, balanced scoring attack led by Alyssa Thomas’ triple-double in a 92-84 loss on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Hamby had a team-high 25 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Jackson had 21 points while shooting 4 for 7 from 3-point range, and Plum added 20 points as the Sparks continued their eight-game stretch of alternating wins and losses as they try to end their four-year playoff drought.
The Sparks (17-19) remain ninth in the league standings with eight games left in the regular season, though they have three games in hand on eighth-place Seattle (20-19), with sixth-place Indiana (20-18) and seventh-place Golden State (19-18) just ahead of the Storm. Only the top eight teams make the postseason.
The Sparks trailed 68-57 heading into the fourth quarter Tuesday, but they couldn’t cut the Mercury’s lead to single digits until there was 1:35 remaining. They got within 88-82 on Rae Burrell’s three-point play with 44.9 seconds left, but the Mercury’s Satou Sabally made a pair of free throws to re-establish a three-possession lead.
Phoenix (23-14), which moved past New York (23-15) for sole possession of fourth place, was led by Thomas’ seventh triple-double of the season, a WNBA single-season record. She finished with 12 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists on a night when the visitors had 28 assists on their 33 field goals.
Sabally scored 19 points and Kahleah Copper had 18. Sami Whitcomb had 17 points, going 5 for 7 from behind the arc, while DeWanna Bonner added 14 points. Phoenix shot 11 for 25 from 3-point range, with its bench players going 9 for 15.
Hamby and Jackson combined to score the Sparks’ first 14 points, but the hosts trailed 24-18 heading into the second quarter.
A Hamby steal followed by an energetic three-point play capped a 7-0 Sparks run as they took a 25-24 lead early in the second quarter.
However, the Mercury surged back ahead and led 48-40 at halftime with Thomas already at 10 assists.
Jackson and Hamby each scored 13 points in the first half.
Jackson swished a pair of 3-pointers to get the Sparks within 54-50 with 6:31 left in the third quarter, but the Mercury got 3-pointers from Sabally and Kathryn Westbeld and Copper added a three-point play for a 13-point lead with 3:57 left in the period.
In the final minute of the third, Jackson crumpled to the ground following some lower-body contact with Sabally near midcourt. She was down for a few minutes before being able to walk off with an apparent right ankle injury, but she returned midway through the fourth quarter.
Whitcomb knocked down two long 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the fourth for a 76-60 cushion, and the margin proved too much for the Sparks.
“We haven’t played them in a long time (since June 1), and I think the interesting thing is they’re a different team,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said before the game. “(Kahleah Copper) didn’t play when the played them. (Alyssa Thomas) didn’t play when we played them here. (DeWanna) Bonner wasn’t with them yet and the flip side of that is we didn’t have Rae (Burrell) or Cam (Brink). Rickea (Jackson) didn’t play the last time we played them, so it’s two different teams than we were.”
The Sparks had five days off, providing the rare in-season luxury of three consecutive days of practice, to prepare for this one.
Roberts said Brink, who has played in 11 games this season since returning 13 months after recovering from an ACL injury, is still limited by a minutes restriction. The forward finished with four points, five rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot in 14 minutes.
“She just has great instincts and understands when somebody’s beat,” Roberts continued. “Her charge moving forward in her career is to be that enforcer without fouling, right. And that’s just a skill you learn.”
Coming into the game, the Sparks were averaging 86.4 points, the second-best mark in the 13-team league, but had allowed a league-worst 88.5.
UP NEXT
The Sparks will host the Indiana Fever (20-18) on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. The Sparks are 3-0 against the Fever this season.
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