Sparks come up short despite strong performances from Burrell, Stevens

Rae Burrell and Azurá Stevens shouldered a heavy offensive load, but it wasn’t enough as the Sparks lost to the Seattle Storm.

Despite a hard-fought game with excellent individual performances from unexpected sources, the Sparks came up short to the Seattle Storm on Tuesday, losing 89-83.

It was some unheralded Sparks who stepped up on Tuesday afternoon in Rae Burrell and Azurá Stevens. Burrell scored 18 points off the bench on 6-11 shooting while Stevens had a 24-point, 15-rebound double-double in the starting lineup.

Rickea Jackson scored 16 points with six rebounds and four assists. Dearica Hamby had a quieter game than usual, scoring 15 points with seven rebounds while battling foul trouble late.

The Storm started the game up 4-0, but both teams couldn’t find any consistent offense. Seattle then began to miss their shot attempts and couldn’t capitalize on the Sparks playing badly. Hamby struck first for LA with two layups. With about two minutes left in the quarter, both teams started making more of their shots.

Burrell knocked down two 3-pointers to give Los Angeles a huge boost. At the end of the first, the Sparks were down two.

Jackson scored five straight points for the Sparks to tie the game up. Burrell again knocked down a 3-pointer to give the team a three-point lead. The Sparks went up by as much as seven after they started cooking offensively.

Despite LA grabbing all the momentum, Seattle was right back into the game and was only down five. They closed to within one with two minutes left before the end of the second period. The Storm went on a 16-7 run to end the half up 41-37.

The Storm continued to take the momentum from the Sparks, going up nine well into the third. Jewell Loyd was taking over for Seattle with her usual excellence from behind the arc. The lead had ballooned to 12 for the Storm.

The young, scrappy Sparks team kept their composure and fought through their struggles to make it a seven-point game. LA was putting themselves in a good position to make a nice run in the fourth to take the win.

Hamby, who hadn't been able to take over, scored six points to help cut the deficit to four. Burrell knocked down another 3-pointer to give the team even more momentum. LA was only down three at the end of the quarter.

The final frame began with the Sparks closing to within one after a pair of free throws from Jackson. Burrell was up to five 3-pointers made, which is a career-high. Los Angeles jumped ahead by two, but Seattle quickly drained a three to retake the lead.

The two sides started trading baskets and the lead. The Storm struck a little stronger to take a seven-point lead. Unfortunately, with five fouls, the Sparks had to fight through some extended minutes without their star, and it seemed to be hurting them.

With two minutes left and the Sparks down eight and it was going to take a magical quick comeback to steal the win. The Storm, though, were making sure LA didn’t have any hope. A three by Aari McDonald and a turnover by Seattle started shifting some momentum. Two free throws by Hamby to cut the deficit to four.

A pair of free throws from Loyd sealed the win for Seattle.

Key Takeaways:

When Burrell is cooking, the Sparks are tough to contain. If she can keep that going for the rest of the season, this team can make a great run after the Olympic break.

Although they did have a lot of turnovers, it was such a hard-fought game for the Sparks that it didn’t seem like they were in double-digit turnovers again. They did though, have a rough game on the boards, and that showed heavily throughout the game.

Going into this break, the team looks like it’s in a better place than at the beginning of the season. Hopefully, some time off will help them come back stronger and ready to make a fun run.

The Sparks will be back in action on Thursday, August 15th against the New York Liberty at 6:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.