New-look Sparks fall to Atlanta in season opener – Daily News

Sparks rookie Cameron Brink, right, loses control of the ball as Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard defends during the second half of their season opener Wednesday night at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

LONG BEACH – The new-look Sparks couldn’t overcome an 11-0 rout of the Atlanta Dream to start the fourth quarter and lost their season opener, 92-81, to stars like Kim Kardashian (WNBA SKIMS partnership) and team owner. Magic Johnson Wednesday night at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid.

The score was tied at 66 through three quarters, but Atlanta took control with its crucial 11-0 run for a 77-66 lead with 6:29 to play.

“I take responsibility for the fact that many of the starters got tired at the end of the third quarter and that I have to replace more players at once at the start of the fourth quarter than I would have liked, in this series of 9-0 to start the fourth quarter was ultimately a tough situation to come out of, but we never

The Sparks cut Atlanta’s lead to 87-81 on rookie forward Cameron Brink’s 3-pointer with 1:34 left, but they missed their final four shots and had a critical turnover while Atlanta went 5 for 6 from the foul line to ice the victory.

Newly acquired guard Kia Nurse scored a team-high 23 points while going 5 of 11 from 3-point range in her debut with the Sparks after being acquired in a trade off season with the Seattle Storm. Sparks forward Dearica Hamby had a double-double (20 points, 14 rebounds), while guard Layshia Clarendon had her first career triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Brink finished with 11 points, four assists, two rebounds, two blocked shots and five personal fouls in 20 minutes. Sparks rookie forward Rickea Jackson added seven points and three rebounds in 18 minutes coming off the bench.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a rookie playing your very first WNBA game like Cam and Rickea will be or if you’re a seasoned veteran, everyone is going to be nervous tonight,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said. before the match. .

However, after a 24-second shot clock violation on their first possession, the Sparks started the game on a 9-2 run, with five early points from Clarendon forcing Atlanta coach Tanisha Wright to call a timeout less than three minutes into the match. .

The Sparks’ starting lineup was Clarendon, Lexie Brown, Nurse, Hamby and Brink (No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft), who had three points and an assist early, but played only 3:21 seconds in the first quarter before leaving the game. with his second personal foul.

Atlanta (1-0) was led by All-Star guard Rhyne Howard (25 points) and fought behind Allisha Gray’s outside shooting (two 3-pointers in the first quarter) and tied the score at 26 before the second quarter.

Atlanta’s veteran center Tina Charles took over and scored 11 of her 15 points in the first six minutes of the second quarter, as the Dream opened a 41-32 advantage. Charles finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Gray finished with 12 points.

The Sparks responded with a 14-5 run and tied the score at 46 on a pair of Nurse free throws with 36 seconds left in the half. Jackson stole the ball at midcourt and made a layup that tied the score at 48 at halftime.

The Sparks shot 17 of 32 from the field in the first half (53.1%), including 7 of 14 from behind the arc. Hamby had 13 points and six rebounds at halftime. The Sparks calmed down in the second half and finished the night shooting 39 percent from the field, but they had 24 assists on their 28 field goals.

Atlanta point guard Haley Jones finished with 14 points and four assists for Jordin Canada, who played the last two seasons with the Sparks but missed the game with a right hand injury.

The Sparks (0-1) next play the Las Vegas Aces Saturday at noon in a nationally televised game on ABC.