Sparks vs. Liberty: How Constant Urgency Drives Their Competitive Rematch – Daily News

Sparks guard Lexie Brown, left, and teammate Azura Stevens, right, react after a basket and a potential three-point play during the second half of their game against the Chicago Sky on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

LOS ANGELES — In the second home game in three days, Sparks head coach Curt Miller emphasizes urgency and a sense of desperation for the upcoming match against the New York Liberty on Tuesday.

The Sparks’ forward, Azurá Stevens, strongly concurs with Miller’s sentiments.

“There’s no writeup on it,” Stevens shared. “It’s just doing it. I don’t know what else we need to say about it, it’s just we have to do it.”

Following being down 80-58 with 5:26 remaining in the game on Sunday, Miller and Stevens were hopeful after seeing a late, revitalizing energy that spurred a 15-0 run, transforming a 22-point deficit into a tense and competitive last five minutes against New York.

The Sparks never led and ultimately lost 87-79. Nonetheless, Miller witnessed a glimmer of hope late in the game the team can build upon.

“New York challenges teams in this league so much with their spacing and their ability to shoot threes,” Miller stated. “(Sunday) was no exception and led early by Marine Johannès (five 3-pointers in the first half) and helped spread us out. It seemed like we were always playing a game of tag the whole night, but again proud of our fight. A lot to learn from.

“We’ll go back to the film and this is the fun part of the chess match when you play a team two times in a row. What are the adjustments and how can we convey that to our team and get back at it Tuesday night.”

Despite encountering injuries and illnesses, and using 15 different starting lineups through 25 games, the Sparks (9-16) remain only one game behind the Chicago Sky for eighth place in the 12-team league (the final playoff berth).

I’m breaking down the LA Sparks 87-79 loss to the New York Liberty with Women’s Hoops World’s Sue Favor (@hoopism). We’re talking about Liberty’s All-Star lineup. Also, with 15 games left in the regular season, should the Sparks organization want to make the 2023 WNBA playoffs? pic.twitter.com/U9kQC4IZfE

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) July 31, 2023

New York (19-6) is currently ranked second in the standings and aims to secure home-court advantage in the playoffs. The Sparks will need to counter key players from New York such as Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu. Stewart scored 25 points, Jones dominated with double-doubles, and Ionescu’s outside shooting was impactful. New York made 15 of 34 three-point attempts, shooting 44.1% from behind the arc on Sunday.

Two-time All-Star Sparks player, Dearica Hamby, led with 21 points and six rebounds. She was among the four Sparks players with double figures along with Jordin Canada (17 points), Stevens (13 points), and Nneka Ogwumike (10 points).

“I think we have to find the identity of this team and what makes us unique and different on the defensive end and stick to that,” Hamby said.

“We were moving the ball,” Stevens added. “Everybody was getting touches. We were swinging it around. (Jordin Canada) was getting downhill, drawing the defense. It was a lot of movement and I think sometimes we get a little stagnant and so we have to make them work on defense, just like they’re making us work every possession. We have to turn around and do the same thing back to them.”

Hamby believes the Sparks have the right pieces to make things work no matter which combination is on the court together.

“Every guard on this team is very versatile and every post player on this team is very versatile,” she said. “We can all kind of do everything, so I think we have to. It’s a new group but we’re figuring it out. We were kind of getting back healthy but just figuring out and gelling together.”

However, New York is averaging 88.6 points per game, so the Sparks will simultaneously need to step up their defense and find enough offense to outscore the league’s second-highest-scoring team.

The Sparks also know they have to improve their three-point shooting, especially since shooting guard Lexie Brown (12.4 points and 41.5% from 3-point range) has missed the last two games due to illness. The team is currently shooting 31.3% from 3-point range, which ranks as the second-worst percentage in the league.

NEW YORK AT SPARKS

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Crypto.com Arena

TV: Spectrum SportsNet, NBA TV