It has been anything but a dream season for the Los Angeles Sparks and in a game they desperately needed to win, visiting Atlanta scored 20 of the first 28 points en route to an 80-62 victory at Crypto.com Arena.
Playing with the desperation of a team fighting for the last playoff spot, Atlanta swept the season series paced by Tina Charles, who shot seven-of nine from the field for 14 points and grabbed four rebounds in the first quarter. She finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Li Yueru scored 14 points for the Sparks (7-25), who were trying to build off their momentum from Wednesday’s surprising 94-88 victory over the league-leading New York Liberty thanks to Dearica Hamby’s 21-point effort. Rickea Jackson added 13 points for Los Angeles,.
Kia Nurse and Odyssey Sims each had eight for Los Angeles in the third and final matchup between the two teams.
The Sparks dropped the previous meeting 87-74 in Atlanta on June 16 in the midst of their season-high, eight-game losing streak and fell in the first encounter 92-81 on May 15 in Los Angeles. The teams have met 43 times in the regular season with Atlanta holding a 22-20 edge. The Dream (11-21) are tied with Chicago for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Aari McDonald, nursing a foot injury, was upgraded to probable before the game and played three minutes off the bench, recording one assist.
The Sparks have eight games remaining, four of them on the road, beginning Wednesday in Indiana.