Sparks fall to Wings 104-96 despite Kelsey Plum's return

Kelsey Plum scored 27 points in her return from injury, but the Los Angeles Sparks lost to the Dallas Wings 104-96 on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

The loss dropped the Sparks to 4-6. Dallas improved to 7-3. Los Angeles shot 53.7 percent from the field, scored 52 points in the paint and recorded 25 assists in a game with 18 lead changes and eight ties, but the Wings pulled away in the final minutes.

Sparks vs Wings: how the game unfolded

The Sparks controlled most of the night before the fourth quarter. Erica Wheeler opened the scoring with a 3-pointer off a Plum assist, and Los Angeles ran out to a 13-4 stretch that built a 20-13 lead. The Sparks shot 66.7 percent in the first quarter and led by as many as nine.

Los Angeles carried that into the half. The team had 17 assists before the break, the 12th time in franchise history it has recorded at least that many in a half, and led 55-54 at halftime. Through three quarters the Sparks led 78-77, having held Dallas to 37.5 percent shooting and a 14-8 edge in the paint in the third.

Plum's three-point play put the Sparks ahead 84-83 with 7:43 to play. Dallas answered with a 15-5 run that started at the 9:17 mark and produced a 90-84 lead. The Sparks scored just 18 points in the fourth quarter after averaging more than 25 in the first three.

"In the last four minutes, they willed it to happen, and we didn't," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. "Twenty-five assists on 36 shots, that's good. But too many turnovers, especially in that fourth quarter. They had some really timely 50-50 plays that could go either way, and they went their way."

Kelsey Plum returns from injury

Plum, who had not played since May 29, finished with 27 points and six assists on 10-of-16 shooting. It was the 35th game of her career with at least 25 points and five assists. She scored seven points in the first quarter and added 10 in the fourth.

Dearica Hamby passes Sparks franchise milestones

Hamby scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and moved up three franchise lists in one night. She passed Temeka Johnson for 12th on the Sparks' all-time assists list, reached 2,000 career points as a member of the team and passed Chelsea Gray for ninth on the franchise's all-time scoring list.

Nneka Ogwumike recorded her 119th career double-double with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, 10 rebounds and five assists. It was her fourth double-double of the season, tied for fifth-most in the WNBA. Ariel Atkins matched her season high with 16 points, going 6-of-12 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range, with five rebounds and three assists. Cameron Brink added 10 points and five rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench, and Kate Martin scored five points on 2-of-2 shooting.

For Dallas, Arike Ogunbowale led all scorers with 30 points. Paige Bueckers had 14 assists and Jessica Shepard grabbed 15 rebounds.

"It definitely felt more natural in the first half, back to just having an open floor," Hamby said. "We had a really good offensive night, considering."

Atkins pointed to defensive details as the area to fix against high-scoring teams. "It's a team thing," she said. "Making sure we have low man, making sure we're not overhead, paying attention to the details and sticking to the scout."

What's next for the Sparks

Los Angeles hosts the Fire on Sunday at 4 p.m. PT before going back on the road.