Sparks are no match for the Sun in blowout loss

It was just another one of those nights for the Sparks, a feeling that’s been all too familiar this season as they were dominated on their home floor by the Connecticut Sun 86-66 Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

The Sparks, who had been approaching this two-game series with Connecticut as their unofficial “playoffs,” kept up for the most part in the first quarter, trailing by only two points at the end of the period and appearing ready to compete with the second-best team in the league for the second time in three nights.

“When we came out in the first quarter, I thought we did a lot of things that we wanted to accomplish,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said. “[We] felt like we made some good adjustments going into what we considered our Game 2 of the playoffs.”

It took 80 seconds for it to all fall apart.

The Sun went on an 8-0 run to start the second quarter, putting some distance between them that was never closed.

In contrast to their matchup Sunday night, where the Sparks led for most of the game and collapsed in the fourth quarter, the Sun outplayed them from whistle to whistle, led by Marina Mabrey, who was their spark plug with a career-high 26 points, two rebounds, and four assists off the bench. Brionna Jones (19 points, eight rebounds) and DiJonai Carrington (14 points, five rebounds) had big nights offensively as well.

“I thought [Mabrey] played with a better tempo and just exploited some of our mistakes defensively,” Miller said. “She’s such a good scorer. As she got hot, it’s hard to cool her down, and she starts to make the contested shots … You could tell she got into one of those flows tonight where she was really comfortable.”

As comfortable as Mabrey and Connecticut were, they did their best to make things uncomfortable for the Sparks, as they were once again marred by turnovers against an aggressive Connecticut defense, as they gave up the ball 15 times while conceding 22 points off turnovers. Their bench was outscored 37-20. The Sun bullied them inside, bulldozing their way to 48 points in the paint. The Sparks were outrebounded 32-23 and were outplayed and outclassed in every facet of the game.

It serves as a reminder of just how early into the rebuild the Sparks are, and how young and inexperienced they are as a team. Azurá Stevens was one of the few silver linings, as she got a career high in rebounds with 17 to go along with 10 points for a double-double. Rookie Crystal Dangerfield scored 11 points in 18 minutes.

With Tuesday’s loss just another one of many similarly disappointing results this season, the Sparks are already turning the page. They’re playing out the remainder of 2024 with the future at the front of their minds.

“We’re out of the playoffs now. There’s a lot of negatives, but there’s a lot we can be building towards too,” Stevens said. “...We’ve talked about that after a lot of these games, just like what are ways we can stay positive and continue to build … What are ways that we can continue to pour positive energy into what we’re trying to do and finish this year with pride?”

Miller added that he’s confident in the roots he’s planted since taking the helm a year ago, even if he can’t promise when the tree will bear fruit.

“We’ve got to be patient,” he said. “Never easy for fanbases, never easy for us. I’m a builder, and [I’ve] built a lot of programs, but I’m not used to losing either. We’re going to get there, though, and I’m proud of the work behind the scenes that isn’t seen as much on what’s going on. It’s going to pay off.”