Sparks complete wild fourth-quarter comeback, win in double overtime over Storm

The Sparks rallied back to beat the Storm in the first double overtime game of the WNBA season.

The Sparks outlasted the Storm, beating them 108-106 in double overtime on the road.

Los Angeles rallied in the fourth to force overtime thanks to a Rickea Jackson basket.

In the first overtime, the Sparks gained control, but the Storm rallied back. Kelsey Plum tried to win the game for the Sparks, but missed L.A.’s final shot attempt.

In the second overtime, both teams appeared to have tired legs, but Dearica Hamby sealed the deal for the Sparks with a basket in the final five seconds.

With this contest going so far beyond regulation, head coach Lynne Roberts heavily relied on her key players, with four of the five starters playing beyond 40 minutes. This led to big nights for many Sparks players.

Jackson ended with 27 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Azurá Stevens had 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

Hamby scored 21 points and 13 rebounds. Plum had 22 points with four rebounds and seven assists. Cameron Brink pitched in with seven points off the bench.

After a slow start from the Sparks offensively, they picked up their energy. Azurá’s four points all came from the charity stripe. Nneka Ogwumike had four points for the Storm.

There were six lead changes in six and a half minutes.

Both teams had started rough offensively, but L.A. was able to pick it up, going on an 8-2 scoring run for a five-point lead. Los Angeles couldn’t stop Ogwumike, who ended the quarter with 11 points.

Rickea and Azurá were the main offensive contributors for the Sparks, scoring 12 of the team’s 18 points. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were up by two.

The second quarter did not start well for the Sparks as their lead was quickly erased with a 9-0 Seattle run. Erica Wheeler scored four points, and former Spark Lexie Brown put up five points. Kelsey scored her first two points of the half at the 6:12 mark of this quarter.

Azurá knocked down the first 3-pointer for the team after they had missed 12 straight attempts.

Skylar Diggins drained her third 3-pointer of the half for the Storm. Dearica played aggressively, drawing plenty of fouls. She was 4-7 from the foul line and 4-8 from the field.

Rickea completed a three-point play and was up to 11 points. The Sparks, unfortunately, had 10 turnovers. At halftime, Los Angeles was down by three.

After a slow offensive first half, Kelsey started heating up and was up to seven points early in the third quarter.

Despite that, this period was dominated by Ogwumike, who scored from all over the field. She was the first player for either team to reach 21 points. Julie Allemand then drained just the second 3-pointer of the game for the Sparks.

The Storm extended their lead to 10, which was the largest of the night. L.A.’s turnover count was now at 12 and their poor shooting from behind the arc was keeping them from making any run.

Kelsey knocked down a much-needed 3-pointer for Los Angeles to stop some of the bleeding. The Sparks struggled to put together a run, which they were much more successful with in the first half. At the end of the third, the L.A. was down seven.

Brink started the final frame on fire with five massive points off the bench. After Los Angeles jumped ahead, a 3-pointer from Diggins gave Seattle the lead again. Both teams battled hard and exchanged the lead back and forth.

With 3:22 left, L.A. jumped ahead by five with a 6-0 push. After four minutes without scoring, the Storm scored eight straight and took over the lead.

Things then went in favor of Los Angeles with a free throw from Dearica and a huge offensive rebound from Rickea, who passed it to Azurá for a layup, which tied the game. Wheeler silenced that with a layup to put the Storm back up.

With 7.9 left and the game tied, Williams took the opportunity to convert on a layup to make it a two-point Seattle lead. Rickea then tied the game and sent it to overtime.

The next period began with a wide-open layup from Dearica. Ogwumike answered with a layup. Azurá then went on a 5-0 run by herself to help extend L.A.’s lead.

Both teams then started exchanging baskets.

With 43 seconds left, it was once again a tied game. Allemand converted on a layup for the Sparks to put them up by two. Diggins tied it again with a layup to send it to a second overtime.

The second overtime began with the Sparks going up five thanks to Kelsey, Dearica and Azurá scoring. Seattle went three minutes without scoring. Both teams had tired players, which made the overtime period drag on.

With 28 seconds left, Los Angeles was nursing a fragile three-point lead. Williams knocked down a clutch three for the Storm to tie it again. Dearica then converted on a layup to give Los Angeles the epic win.

Key Takeaways:

What an incredible, gutsy performance by the Sparks.

Los Angeles still needs more production from their bench and had 18 turnovers, which is still too much, but they won the game and that’s all that matters.

Great job by the two-year players Jackson and Brink, who were huge in the Sparks’ comeback in the fourth quarter. This was by far the best win of the year.

The Sparks’ next game will be Tuesday against the Indiana Fever at 7:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.