Sparks fall short against Sky on day honoring Candace Parker
LOS ANGELES — Legacy. What does it mean to be a Los Angeles Spark? With Candace Parker’s No. 3 jersey now displayed in the rafters at Crypto.com Arena, the current iteration of the Sparks was graced with the personification of what it looks like to be an all-time great.
Azurá Stevens, Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby combined to score 28 of the team’s 34 first-half points. The Sparks trailed 40-34 at halftime. However, it was the team’s energetic play to begin the second half, highlighted by outscoring the Sky by a 28-21 margin, which put the Sparks up 62-61 at the end of the third quarter.
However, the Sparks could not sustain the execution needed to win, suffering a 92-85 defeat at home Sunday.
The Sky battled back behind the strong of Angel Reese and Ariel Atkins and took a 77-69 lead with 4:50 left in the fourth quarter on Atkins’ finger roll layup.
The Sparks dropped to 5-12 overall, losing their second game in less than a week to the Sky. Plum scored 22 points. Hamby had 20 points. Stevens added 17 points. Sparks forward Emma Cannon added a season-high 15 points off the bench.
“The mentality is this is a must-win,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said before the game. “We want to make the playoffs, and we’ve got to start winning now. The urgency is now. So the mindset, I don’t want to be outcome driven totality, but doing what it takes to play with the intensity it’s going to take tot win.”
Sparks veteran guard Odyssey Sims played but came off the bench after missing five prior games over two weeks due to personal reasons. Sims finished with two points, four assists and two rebounds in 17 minutes.
The Sparks led 18-17 at the end of the first quarter. Stevens (8), Hamby (8) and Plum (6) scored the team’s first 22 points. Cannon’s 3-pointer put the home team up 25-23 with 6:48 left in the second quarter.
The Sparks trailed 40-34 at halftime. Stevens had a team-high 12 points in the first half. However, the Sparks shot 30% in the first half, only making 12 of 40 attempts.
The Sky improved to 5-11 overall and began the second half on a 8-2 run, establishing a 48-36 lead with 7:36 left in the third quarter. Reese finished with a game-high 24 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists. Atkins had 20 points. Former Guard Kia Nurse had 14 points. Rachel Banham had 13 points, and Elizabeth Williams added 12 points and nine rebounds.
“We’re not new to this type of adversity this season of having to step up and everybody getting more opportunity to fill the void that exists without having Kamilla (Cardoso) for this game, but I think we’re up for the challenge,” Sky coach Tyler Marsh said before the game.
However, Cannon drained her third consecutive 3-pointer, which pulled the Sparks within three, 50-47, with 6:01 left in the third quarter. Cannon’s cutting layup, her 11th point, put the Sparks up 55-53 with 3:43 left in the third.
Atkins’ buzzer-beating floating jump shot cut the Sparks’ lead to 62-61 heading into the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Coach Roberts also said that Sparks will not be close to their peak until forwards Rae Burrell and Cameron Brink are back in the active rotation.
“I don’t think we’re close,” Roberts continued. “We’re still missing Rae Burrell. We’re still missing Cameron Brink. Those guys will be back. Rae will be back soon. Cameron will be back soon, too, soonish maybe is a good way to say it, and once we get those guys back and in the rotation, then I think we’re going to be, part of our inconsistency on the floor has been inconsistency with our roster. We’ve had people in and out and hurt and back and then out, and it’s hard but we’re learning from it and we’re getting tougher because of it and really the emphasis of control what you can control, so have we come close to peaking, no I don’t think so.”
UP NEXT
The Sparks will play at New York (11-5) on Thursday, July 3. It will be the Sparks’ first time playing the defending WNBA champions this season. The Liberty are 2-5 since starting the season 9-0.
Candace Parker on why the Los Angeles Sparks should be the first WNBA team to retire her No. 3 Jersey. pic.twitter.com/665f4vfbRn
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) June 29, 2025
Candace Parker’s jersey retirement ceremony with CP3’s full heartfelt speech. pic.twitter.com/f2fuhTTayl
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) June 29, 2025
Candace Parker’s full press conference on having her jersey retired by the LA Sparks. pic.twitter.com/pkqrVun5YN
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) June 29, 2025