Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson shine as Sparks fall to Dream

A late fourth-quarter run by the Atlanta Dream proved to be the difference against the Sparks on Sunday afternoon despite big games from Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson.

The Sparks lost their third game in a row on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Atlanta Dream 87-74.

The Dream guarded Dearica Hamby well, which caused her to play slower than usual. She ended with 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

LA’s bench had a slow start but ended with 27 points in total. Aari McDonald scored 11 points, Li Yueru pitched in with five points and Lexi Brown had four.

The rookies put in massive work Sunday afternoon, carrying the offensive load. Rickea Jackson scored 16 points and Cameron Brink scored 16 points with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

After the Sparks jumped out to a quick three-point lead, the Dream responded to go ahead by five. Both teams were playing well offensively and Atlanta was making sure LA had to work for their shots. The Sparks were not closing out on Tina Charles, who scored six of the Dream’s first 14 points.

Each team struggled with controlling the ball, causing the offense to stagnate. Atlanta pushed it’s lead to eight, their biggest lead of the game so far. McDonald’s layup cut the deficit to six at the end of the first.

Jackson was cooking for LA with eight points, which included an and-one that started the second quarter. It was a three-point deficit, but Atlanda answered to take their lead up to seven. Jackson was the first person in the game in double figures for either team.

Both teams were pushing the tempo and the Sparks were chipping away at the deficit, but Atlanta was holding on. Unfortunately, Los Angeles couldn’t find enough defense to help open up their offense.

Brink scored five straight points to make it a four-point game. Hamby, who usually has strong starts, struggled offensively in the first half.

LA’s rookies were leading the charge offensively for the team and were the only players in double digits. A 9-3 run for Atlanta pushed their lead to 11. The Sparks responded with an 8-2 run of their own to cut the deficit to five at halftime.

The second half opened with both teams exchanging baskets. The Sparks’ defensive shortcomings continued, making them struggle to find a consistent rhythm to help them get closer to the game. Rhyne Howard, who had a strong showing against LA in their previous contest, was beginning to heat up after a slow start.

It was Charles who was keeping the Dream ahead throughout with her offense. Atlanta’s lead kept floating around seven as the Sparks had just enough to stay in it, but couldn’t get over the hump.

A 9-1 run sparked LA to cut the deficit to one, which was the closest they had been since leading in the first. A pair of free throws by Brown and a layup by Jackson put the Sparks up by three. Despite getting the lead and creating some distance, the Dream fought back and LA was only up by one to end the third.

The Dream retook the lead by one, but McDonald knocked down a three to put LA up two to start the final frame. The Dream’s fiery offense put them ahead by five.

This young Sparks team continued to fight to come within five with 3:22 left after the Dream had gone up by seven. The momentum completely shifted in Atlanta’s favor and the scoring run Atlanta was on jumped to 20-5, and whatever hope LA had to steal this win was completely gone.

A three by Allisha Gray put the final nail in Los Angeles’s coffin. Their terrible fourth quarter left them unable to find a way to pull ahead and steal a win.

Key Takeaways:

Unfortunately, the Sparks struggled to get their defense going which hurt their offense. A slow game for Hamby contributed to LA not being able to put together a good offensive scheme which usually runs through her.

The turnovers were bad again, that being their one very consistent thing throughout this young season had been a formula for losses. They need to find some ways to clean it up.

The Sparks’ next contest will be Tuesday against the Connecticut Sun at 4:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.