The Sparks turned up their defensive intensity in the fourth quarter as they tried to overcome a 13-point deficit.
\nThe Sparks pulled within one with 3:44 left but could not complete the comeback after their offense was stifled by the Atlanta Dream for the first three quarters in an 88-82 loss on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sparks forward Dearica Hamby, left, grabs a rebound from the Atlanta Dream\u2019s Brionna Jones (24) as the Sparks\u2019 Azura Stevens, right, looks on during the first half on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Sparks forward Dearica Hamby celebrates a play during the first half of their game against the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Sparks guard Kelsey Plum hangs on to the ball between the Atlanta Dream\u2019s Maya Caldwell, left, and Rhyne Howard for a jump ball during the first half on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Sparks forward Azura Stevens reacts to her foul during the first half of their game against the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Sparks guard Kelsey Plum steals the ball from the Atlanta Dream\u2019s Te-Hina Paopao during the first half on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Show Caption<\/p>\n
1<\/span> of 5<\/span><\/p>\n Sparks forward Dearica Hamby, left, grabs a rebound from the Atlanta Dream\u2019s Brionna Jones (24) as the Sparks\u2019 Azura Stevens, right, looks on during the first half on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n Expand<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy message to the group was we\u2019ve got to be able to put 40 minutes together and not get down and then play with that urgency,\u201d said Sparks coach Lynne Roberts, whose team lost for the fourth time in the past five games. \u201cWe have the ability to play like that more and that\u2019s what I would like to when we go in those droughts, you have to get it back defensively and find some momentum there. I asked WNBA champions Dearica Hamby and Kelsey Plum why they believe their team has not been able to consistently play 40 minutes after an 88-82 loss vs. Atlanta Dream. <\/p>\n Hamby and Plum combined for 55 of their team\u2019s 82 points. <\/p>\n This was Hamby\u2019s direct response: pic.twitter.com\/SFm31Ds6ZG<\/p>\n \u2014 John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) May 28, 2025<\/p>\n Kelsey Plum scored 19 of her 27 points in the second half and finished with five assists and four steals for the Sparks, who dropped to 2-4. Azur\u00e1 Stevens finished with a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. ## Game Progress ## Atlanta’s Performance ## Injury Update ## Coaches’ Comments ## Next Game<\/p>\n The Sparks (2-4) will play at Las Vegas (2-2) on Friday at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n ## Conclusion ## FAQs Introduction to the Game The Sparks turned up their defensive intensity in the fourth quarter as they tried to overcome a 13-point deficit. The Sparks pulled within one with 3:44 left but could not complete the comeback after their offense was stifled by the Atlanta Dream for the first three quarters in an 88-82 loss […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15529","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dailynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/imageedit_11_3802076-16x9-1.jpg?w=1400px&strip=all&w=1400&resize=1400,790&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15529"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15529"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15531,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15529\/revisions\/15531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Game Analysis<\/h2>\n
\n\u201cYou can\u2019t let a missed shot, a bad shot, a turnover effect how you play defensively and I think we can get better at that.\u201d
\nSparks forward Dearica Hamby scored 20 of her game-high 28 points in the second half. She also had eight assists, six rebounds and four steals.
\n\u201cFirst and foremost, we\u2019ve been in this position before, way before Vegas became champions,\u201d Hamby said. \u201cWe enjoy the process. We\u2019ve been a part of the process. We know that it does not happen over night. It\u2019s not going to happen in the first five games of the season. Obviously, we want to compete and we want to keep building but perspective. This is a new group. We\u2019re learning a whole new system. It\u2019s predicated on chemistry, movement, spacing. So we\u2019re not panicking.\u201d<\/p>\nPlayer Performance<\/h2>\n
\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to continue to build and I have faith that we will get there,\u201d Plum said.<\/p>\n
\nPlum\u2019s three-point play cut Atlanta\u2019s lead to 51-45 with 4:47 left in third quarter, but the Dream\u2019s next three possessions resulted in a layup and short jumper by Allisha Gray and a 3-pointer from Rhyne Howard for a 58-45 advantage. Atlanta pushed the advantage to 66-49 on a Brionna Jones layup and led 66-53 heading into the fourth quarter.
\nThe Sparks opened the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run to get within 66-63 with 7:42 remaining.
\nSparks rookie forward Liatu King\u2019s jumper cut what had been a 17-point deficit late in the third to 69-67 with 5:20 remaining. A Plum 3-pointer cut the margin to 71-70 with 4:22 left, but 3-pointers from Howard and Gray helped Atlanta maintain a five-point lead (79-74) with three minutes to play.
\n\u201cI feel like I can do a better job of stopping runs,\u201d Plum explained. \u201cJust getting us into stuff. Getting people the ball, good shots.\u201d
\nStevens hit a 3-pointer for the Sparks to make it 81-77 with 59 seconds left, but Naz Hillmon\u2019s deep 3-pointer with 43 seconds left put Atlanta back ahead by seven. Gray added four free throws to close it out.<\/p>\n
\nAtlanta (4-2) earned its third straight win behind its trio of All-Stars. Gray had 25 points, six assists and five rebounds. Howard had 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and Jones added 13 points. Hillmon scored 11 points and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 10.<\/p>\n
\nSparks forward Rickea Jackson was held scoreless in 12 minutes off bench. Jackson checked in with 4:30 left in the first quarter after missing three straight games while recovering from a concussion that she suffered on May 18.<\/p>\n
\nRoberts knew her team was going to be in for a challenge because of similarities in style of play between the two teams.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s the tale of the same,\u201d Roberts said before the game. \u201cSimilar styles, so I think we both know what gives that system fits and I\u2019m sure we\u2019re both going to try to do it.\u201d
\nAtlanta coach Karl Smesko also acknowledged several parallels for the former college coaches, who are just a few games into their respective WNBA coaching careers.
\nBoth teams were encouraged to fire away from 3-point range.
\nThe Sparks shot 8 for 19 (42.1%) from behind the arc, while Atlanta finished 11 for 30 (36.7%) including a 7-for-12 showing after halftime.
\n\u201cWe kind of believe in a similar philosophy in terms of shot selection and we\u2019ve both been kind of managing the roster through injuries,\u201d Smesko said. \u201cThere are a lot similarities. This is the W, you don\u2019t have time to dwell on any of it. People have to step up. They have to play. Hope they play well. You have to steal some wins when you can. You\u2019re just hopeful that you at some point get your full team and you\u2019re fully healthy to go.\u201d<\/p>\nUP NEXT<\/h4>\n
\nThe Sparks’ late comeback bid fell short against Atlanta, with the team ultimately losing 88-82. Despite a strong performance from Dearica Hamby and Kelsey Plum, the Sparks were unable to overcome their slow start and defensive struggles. The team will look to bounce back in their next game against Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\nQ: What was the final score of the game?
\nA: The final score was 88-82 in favor of Atlanta.
\nQ: Who were the top performers for the Sparks?
\nA: Dearica Hamby scored 28 points and Kelsey Plum scored 27 points.
\nQ: What is the Sparks’ current record?
\nA: The Sparks are currently 2-4.
\nQ: Who is the Sparks’ next opponent?
\nA: The Sparks will play at Las Vegas on Friday at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"