Sparks are no match for the Sun in blowout loss

It was just another one of those nights for the Sparks, a feeling that’s been all too familiar this season as they were dominated on their home floor by the Connecticut Sun 86-66 Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

If one play could sum up the night, it would be when the Sparks’ Azura Stevens stole the ball with just over two minutes left in the game. Nobody was between her and the basket, Stevens took the ball coast-to-coast and proceeded to smoke the layup.

In contrast to their matchup Sunday night, where the Sparks led for most of the game and collapsed in the fourth quarter, the Sun outplayed them from whistle to whistle, led by Marina Mabrey, who was their spark plug with a career-high 26 points, two rebounds, and four assists off the bench. Brionna Jones (19 pts, 8 rebounds) and DiJionai Carrington (14 pts, 5 rebounds) had big nights offensively as well.

The Sparks were once again marred by turnovers against an aggressive Connecticut defense, whose length once again making life difficult for the Sparks, as they gave up the ball 14 times while conceding 22 points off of them. Their bench was outscored 35-12. The Sun bullied them inside the paint, bulldozing their way to 46 points in the paint. They were out-rebounded 32-23. Simply put, the Sparks were outplayed and outclassed in every facet of the game.

Call it a blowout, call it a learning opportunity, but Tuesday served yet another reminder of how far the Sparks really are from the bonafide contenders of the WNBA.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.