Kelsey Plum put on a show in the second half, scoring 18 of her game-high 25 points to lead the Los Angeles Sparks to a thrilling 99-95 victory over the Toronto Tempo on Friday night. The win marked the Sparks' first of the season, and they had to earn every bit of it.
The Sparks came out firing, racing to a 21-2 lead early in the first quarter. Their offense was clicking on all cylinders, shooting 11-of-18 from the field in the opening period. But the expansion Tempo (1-2), playing their first road game, showed resilience. After trailing by as many as 20 points in the second half, Toronto mounted a furious comeback, cutting the deficit to just two points with 2:23 remaining.
That's when Plum and veteran forward Nneka Ogwumike took over. The duo combined for six straight points to push the lead back to eight. Toronto refused to back down, pulling within three points with under a minute to play. But Plum calmly sank two free throws with 13.8 seconds left, and Cameron Brink added two more from the stripe with 8.9 seconds to go, sealing the win at 99-93.
Ogwumike finished with 20 points, while Dearica Hamby added 19, Rae Burrell chipped in 13, and Eric Wheeler contributed 10. The Sparks shot an impressive 64% from the field (37-of-58) and dominated the paint, outscoring Toronto 54-30 inside.
For Toronto, Brittney Sykes was electric with 27 points. Reserve Laura Juskaite added 16, Nyara Sabally scored 14, and Kiki Rice came off the bench for 11. The Tempo's bench outscored the Sparks' reserves 42-10, but it wasn't enough to overcome Los Angeles's hot shooting and interior dominance.
The game started with a bang as the Sparks scored the first 10 points and led 28-17 after one quarter. Toronto clawed back to within 46-38 at halftime, but Los Angeles opened the third quarter with a 12-0 run to go up 58-38. The Tempo kept fighting, cutting the lead to 74-63 heading into the fourth, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.
These two teams will meet again Sunday in Los Angeles, and if this game was any indication, fans are in for another treat.