The Sparks dropped their second straight game Wednesday afternoon, falling 96-87 to the Minnesota Lynx, even as Nneka Ogwumike was out there making franchise history. Los Angeles found themselves in a familiar spot, watching a fourth-quarter run from the Lynx completely flip the script, mirroring their previous loss to the Dream. Despite leading at points in the second half and even into the fourth, the Sparks just couldn't find those answers down the stretch, even with the Lynx losing standout rookie Olivia Miles to injury.
Historic Nneka Can't Stop the Slide
Nneka Ogwumike, an absolute legend, went out there and tied Lisa Leslie as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, hitting that insane 6,263 point mark. She kicked things off for the Sparks, draining a midrange jumper as the first scorer of the game. She led the way with six early points as LA’s lead ballooned to nine. Rae Burrell chipped in four points, Ariel Atkins added three, while the Lynx could only muster four total team points to start. Minnesota’s Courtney Williams, though, quickly answered with a midrange jumper to stop the bleeding. Even better news for LA fans, Cameron Brink made her return from injury, hitting a sweet layup on a spin move for her first points back. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were still up by six. But the second quarter? That's when things started to get shaky. Natasha Howard converted a layup for the Lynx, and after Dearica Hamby hit both her free throws, Minnesota went on a nasty 9-2 run, taking a one-point lead at the eight-minute mark. Eight turnovers already for LA? That’s rough, man. Olivia Miles had a quiet offensive half with just four points, but Rae Burrell caught fire, hitting double figures with 11 points after a personal 5-0 scoring burst. Kayla McBride was also in double digits for the Lynx with 12. Minnesota ended the second quarter shooting a sizzling 56% from the field, compared to the Sparks’ 38%. Somehow, despite all that, LA still held a two-point lead at halftime. Wild.Second Half Collapse Sinks LA
The second half started with Williams draining a triple for Minnesota, and from there, these teams just kept trading blows and the lead. Then, LA hit an eight-point run, forcing the Lynx to call a timeout. Before the break, Nneka got fouled, and she completed the three-point play coming out of it, extending LA’s lead to eight and getting her even closer to that all-time scoring record. Nneka wasn't done, she and Erica Wheeler both drained triples, and you felt like LA had momentum. But just like that, the Sparks lost their lead, as Minnesota went on an 8-0 run to go up by one point. Williams, who was a problem all game, just kept adding to that run. This second straight loss has to sting, especially when your star player is out there making history. The Sparks just can't seem to close out games right now, and that's a tough trend to break. They’ll need to shake off these late-game collapses if they want to get back on track.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.