Sparks falter down the stretch and lose to visiting Lynx
Napheesa Collier scored 25 points, Kayla McBride had 16, and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Sparks 77-72 on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
McBride made a steal and a fast-break layup to give Minnesota a 71-68 lead. Collier converted a three-point play on the Lynx’s next possession to make it 74-70 with 1:06 left. McBride sank two free throws with 18.2 seconds remaining for a five-point lead.
Nikolina Milic had 10 points for Minnesota (3-7), which plays at Las Vegas on Sunday before returning to Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Minnesota went on a 10-2 run to take a 63-57 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Karlie Samuelson is ready to step up and use her season in Australia to bounce back as the Sparks take on the Minnesota Lynx on Friday.
Jordin Canada led the Sparks (5-5) with 22 points. Dearica Hamby had 14 points and nine rebounds. Lexie Brown, the Sparks’ second-leading scorer, did not play because of a non-COVID illness. Rookie Zia Cooke made her first start and finished with five points in 25 minutes.
Nneka Ogwumike made her second field goal of the game with 49.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter to get the Sparks to within 74-72. She finished with eight points, five rebounds and seven assists but went two for nine from the field.
The Sparks, who opened a five-game homestand Friday, will face the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
