Sparks lose to Mercury in another close game

LOS ANGELES -- The Sparks have been so close so many times. But in the end, they don't reach the finish line.

The Sparks were rallying back against the Mercury. They had a chance to tie or take the lead with 20 seconds left but Dearica Hamby missed what could've been the equalizing lay-up. The Mercury were able to get the rebound and Monique Akoa Makani converted a fastbreak lay-up with 14 seconds left to put the game out of reach. That would end up being the final score, 86-82, Mercury.

That play alone didn't lose the Sparks the game; L.A. had trouble once again with holding on to the ball. It's a recurring theme for the team as they had 18 turnovers against Mercury.

"I think just our execution needs to be better, attention to detail, our communication defensively," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. "They weren't doing anything that we didn't show on film and go over. We just got to be locked in. I felt like we were a little bit reactive defensively down the stretch rather than proactive.

"Yeah, it's just execution. Coming out of a timeout, executing what we just talked about," Roberts continued. "Yeah, being able to do what we're supposed to do."

That word again. Execution. It was said many times by different personnel and it was brought up once again.

"They had (17) points off our turnovers. That's the game," Roberts said.

The Sparks have lost five straight. Is there even more pressure going into the second half of the season?

"I don't think there was ever not pressure to figure it out. It doesn't change," Roberts said. "We've had a tough stretch and we've been right there in all these games. So I do think that we're really close. And like (Dearica Hamby) said, we're going to get (Kelsey Plum) back soon and that will be a boost. And not that she's the savior or anything but that'll be a boost when you get somebody that can make plays. That'll help. I think the experience (Rae Burrell)'s got, the minutes, the load she's carried, and Nneka (Ogwumike) and Dee and Ariel (Atkins), everybody's taking steps forward. And now we've got KP back. But in terms of pressure, this is what we do. (5:34) I don't feel any more pressure than I did in April. I want to succeed and we will. The last thing we're going to do is mope around and feel sorry for ourselves. We're pissed we lost right now

"But I promise you on Tuesday we're not going to be pissed about the Phoenix game anymore," Roberts went on. "We're going to be focused on doing all that we can to beat New York. That's just what we do. So pressure is a privilege. That means people care."

The All-Star break probably couldn't have come at a better time.

"We just talked about just taking a complete mental break from basketball," Hamby said. "Enjoy your family, your friends, the activities at all-star. We showed last year we were able to really respond after the all-star break and having a complete, healthy team. So looking forward to getting KP back in the second half of basketball."

The Sparks were down 84-76 with under three minutes to go. Ariel Atkins would punch back with a three-pointer. Hamby would split her free throws afterwards. After a missed Phoenix jumper, Burrell was able to cross and get a lay-up to cut the deficit to two. Erica Wheeler was able to get a steal but the Sparks couldn't capitalize after that.

Rae Burrell led the Sparks with 20 points while Hamby scored 19. As for the Mercury, Copper scored 21 to lead them in scoring.

"That's who she is," Roberts remarked. "She had 41 on us last time or whatever. She's an all-star. She's an Olympian. That's who she is."

Meanwhile, Alyssa Thomas recorded her first triple-double and the second player (Jessica Shepard) to achieve that this season. She had a line of 19-11-15.

The Sparks will go to the break with a 10-16 record. They will look to snap that five-game losing streak on Tuesday against the Liberty.

But in the meantime, it's all-star weekend for the W after Wednesday.