INDIANAPOLIS -- Oops, they did it again.
The Sparks and Fever were going back and forth before Los Angeles scored the final six points to steal yet another win against Indianapolis, 89-87.
The top two picks (Caitlin Clark and Cameron Brink) of last year's draft were not available for this contest but it was a thrilling game, nonetheless, that saw a game that never had a lead bigger than eight. For the first time in forever, the Sparks had turnovers in the single digits (seven) while the Fever had 10. It was a pretty clean game that saw great shots and fluid ball movement from both sides.
"That's a great job and that's something that has been hurting us a little bit," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said about the turnovers. "Indiana's incredibly physical defensively and they're active and all the things. And for us to just only have seven giveaways like that is really improvement. And 22 assists, I'm proud of our team for that."
The Sparks (6-13) were down eight in the third quarter and the Fever threatened to run away. But Los Angeles kept their composure. With the Fever (9-9) hanging on to an 87-83 lead with under two minutes left, Rickea Jackson converted a three-point play and then made a short jumper to give the Sparks the lead for good.
"We were down eight in the (third) quarter and our players didn't flinch," Coach Roberts continued. "That's the sign of toughness and playing to win and just next play mentality. So there's a lot of positives there but seven turnovers for me is a big one. And being down eight in the (third) and just not panicking and not getting discouraged, that's how you win games."
Azurá Stevens once again came up big against the Fever.
"She had 21 and 12," Coach Roberts said of Stevens. "And no one talks about her enough. We don't talk about Azurá Stevens enough in the national spotlight. The season she's having, how consistent she is, she deserves a lot more ink and recognition than she's getting."
"I agree with Coach," guard Kelsey Plum said. "She's probably one of the most underrated players in our league, doesn't get the attention she deserves. What she's doing, the way she's shooting, how efficient she is defensively; just a nightmare for people. And so, yeah, I think Z's been super clutch all year so we're going to continue to go to her."
Plum also added on the toughness of the team.
"Yeah, I thought it was just really cool to see us be resilient, like you said," Plum said. "There was even a couple calls that didn't go our way. We just stayed together, stayed tough. That's a mark of a team that's growing and chemistry is building. You know, I've said this all year. I'll continue to say it: the best teams in this league have had that chemistry and they build it year after year. So we want to continue to build that and we've been in a lot of close games. I'm just really proud that we responded, stayed together."
Stevens led the Sparks with those 21 points and 12 rebounds. Plum made some big threes on her way to 20 points. Dearica Hamby had 18 while Jackson had 15. On the Fever's side, Aliyah Boston had 23 points and 12 rebounds while Natasha Howard had 21 and nine. Kelsey Mitchell scored 19.
The Sparks will now go back to Los Angeles to end the first half of the season with a three-game home stand before the all-star break. On Thursday afternoon for Camp Day, the Sparks will play the Minnesota Lynx.
