The short-handed Sparks (6-8) struggled to contain Diana Taurasi in her return for the Phoenix Mercury (7-7) Sunday afternoon.
Los Angeles kept it close until the Mercury exploded in the second-half pulling ahead by as much as 19. With only eight players, the Sparks battled to the end but couldn’t close the gap in a 88-79 loss at Phoenix Suns Arena.
“We ain’t got no quit in our blood,” Sparks guard Te’a Cooper said. “Everybody’s gonna give everything they got for the 40 minutes that we have on the floor.”
Unfortunately for the Sparks, their effort wasn’t enough to overcome the offensive struggles. Los Angeles went cold in the third shooting 6-for-21 in that period getting outscored by 10.
Sparks guard Erica Wheeler led the team with 21 points. While on defense, Wheeler got crushed in-between a screen and laid on the court in visible pain for several minutes grabbing her side. The former All-Star did not return, watching the rest of the game from the bench.
Wheeler said she’s alright after the game speaking to the media without issue following the loss. She detailed how she got elbowed by Taurasi on the pick-and-roll, but it won’t be a nagging injury.
After missing nine games with a broken sternum, Taurasi appeared to not miss a beat scoring a season-high 25 points, with 11 coming in the third quarter.
“That’s why she’s one of the great players, one of the best in the world,” Wheeler said.
Center Brittney Griner contributed to the Mercury’s victory with 22 points with 11 rebounds. Cooper scored 20 for the Sparks, continuing her offensive prowess with back-to-back 20-point performances.
Forward Briana Turner’s season-high 15 boards helped the Mercury out rebound the Sparks, 44-31. The Sparks are currently the worst rebounding team in the league.
Of the 44 rebounds, the Mercury recorded eight on offense for 14 second chance points.
Despite the Sparks pounding the paint with 40 points compared to the Mercury’s 38, Phoenix out shot Los Angeles particularly from the 3-point line. Taurasi made four of the Mercury’s nine successful attempts from long range.
Kristi Toliver was one of five players on the Sparks’ injured list after getting hit in the eye in Thursday’s win against the Mystics.
“I don’t know if there’s anybody on our team that would understand what Diana is trying to get done out there more than Kristi,” Sparks coach Derek Fisher said ahead of the matchup.
Early in the second quarter, Taurasi drove to the basket getting bumped for an and-one. Pretty standard for the future hall-of-famer, but the basket pushed her over 9,000 career points.
Already the WNBA all-time leader scorer, she became the first player in league history to reach the milestone putting her further ahead of second place (Tina Thompson, 7,488).
“The more of the best players in the world out there on the court, it’s good for all,” Fisher said.
As the Sparks continue the season without the Ogwumike sisters, they’ve shown heart but varied results losing five out of the last seven games.
Fisher said even being down double-digits as the game winded down, they didn’t just go through the motions. They continued to fight.
Though, he acknowledged that they’re margin for error is much smaller without superstar-level talent.
“They’re becoming a closer, more connected team, continuing to fight for one another and play for one another,” he said. “Those are things that we can build on as hopefully we can get healthier.”
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June 28, 2021 at 07:58AM
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Diana Taurasi, Mercury too much for Sparks - OCRegister
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