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The Los Angeles Sparks dropped a crucial game on the road Wednesday, falling to the Atlanta Dream 86-75 as Cameron Brink scored three points in a night where L.A. edged closer to elimination from playoff contention.
With the loss, the Sparks fell to 20-20 and remain in ninth place — just outside the WNBA playoff picture and teetering on the edge of elimination.
Brink added three rebounds and a steal but struggled with ball security, committing four turnovers. Kelsey Plum paced the offense with 18 points and seven assists, while Dearica Hamby turned in another strong outing with 21 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Rickea Jackson also contributed 15 points and three boards off the bench.
The Dream, who have already clinched a playoff berth, improved to 27-14 and moved into second in the league standings. Rhyne Howard led Atlanta with 19 points, five assists, and four rebounds, while Brionna Jones dominated the paint with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Los Angeles now faces a must-win stretch as the regular season winds down, with their postseason hopes hanging by a thread.
Azura Stevens opened the game on a high note for the Los Angeles Sparks, drilling a three-pointer off a pass from Plum. Hamby followed with a layup, and Plum added a triple of her own to ignite a 10-0 run.
The Dream weathered the early storm, clawing back from the deficit. Still, Plum ended the first quarter with seven points, Hamby chipped in six, and Brink buried a three at the buzzer to knot the game at 24 heading into the second.
Atlanta came out firing in the second quarter, stringing together a run to take a quick 39-25 lead. Hamby finally broke the drought for L.A. with the team’s first field goal of the period at the 6:30 mark. However, the Sparks were plagued by cold shooting and foul trouble, unable to find a rhythm as the Dream pushed ahead.
Los Angeles trailed 53-41 at halftime.
Hamby continued her standout performance in the third, opening the half with a jumper and scoring six straight points to trim the deficit to single digits. Jackson added a spark with back-to-back buckets, but the Sparks still found themselves fighting uphill, entering the fourth quarter down 11.
With four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the offense stalling, the Sparks began pulling their starters, trailing by 16 and effectively waving the white flag.
The two teams will meet again Friday, as the Sparks face the Dream for a rematch in Atlanta.
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