Once again, Sparks can’t hang on to early lead and lose to Mercury

If you’ve watched the Sparks this season, their home finale went about exactly as you might have expected.

The Sparks got off to a hot start, building an advantage on the boards that led to a noticeable 12-2 margin in second-chance points as they took an eight-point lead into halftime. Then, an absolutely horrid third quarter stretch snowballed as the Phoenix Mercury came roaring back to defeat the Sparks 85-81, handing them their eighth consecutive loss, tying a franchise record to close out their home schedule.

After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Sparks opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run to take control of the game thanks in large part to strong performances off the bench from Li Yueru and Zia Cooke, whose nine points each tied Dearica Hamby for the team lead at the half. Rickea Jackson was starting to find her groove in the second half as well, getting to the line and shooting a perfect four for four on her free throws.

The Sparks were in full control of the game, with Brittney Griner the only Mercury player with more than five points (14) in the first half. But the mood shifted in the final seconds before halftime when Griner threw an elbow at Jackson, who took exception. The two got in each other’s faces and exchanged shoves. After a lengthy official review, double technical fouls were handed out and Jackson and Griner were ejected from the game.

Almost as if on cue, things began to unravel for the Sparks once the second half was underway. The Mercury got off to a quick 10-2 run of their own to erase the Sparks lead, and finished the quarter on a 9-4 run to push it to double digits. In Griner’s absence, it was 20-year veteran Diana Taurasi (13 points, three rebounds, five assists), Sophie Cunningham (14 points, three rebounds, two assists), and Natasha Cloud (13 points, 12 assists) who stepped up to lead the Mercury.

Meanwhile, nothing went the Sparks’ way in the third quarter. They had eight turnovers, which matched their total in the first half. In total, they gave up 31 points off 20 turnovers, as both the ball and the game slipped away.

The Sparks finished an abysmal 5-15 at Crypto.com Arena this season. Their final game will be Thursday as they visit the Minnesota Lynx.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.