LOS ANGELES — The Sparks have won seven of their last nine games as they look to continue pushing for the playoffs when they play host to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
The Sparks, 12-15 overall, are 3-9 at home and 9-6 on the road this season. However, they have won six of their last seven games. During that stretch, they have clawed to only 1.5 games behind the Golden State Valkyries for the league’s eighth and final playoff spot with 17 games remaining in the regular season, which ends on Sept. 11.
The Fever (17-12) are currently on a five-game win streak despite missing All-Star guard Caitlin Clark, who has been sidelined with a right groin injury that she suffered on July 15. Clark has missed 17 games this season.
“That’s not going to be an easy game,” Sparks All-Star guard Kelsey Plum said. “I think we have to take it one game at a time. When we start to look at the standings and where we’re at, every game is critical and defending home court is the way that you get into the playoffs. If you win your home games, you’re usually in the playoffs.”
The Sparks are 2-0 on the road against Fever this season, including a 85-75 win on June 26 and a 89-87 victory on July 5. Clark, who is averaging 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and five rebounds, missed both prior games due to injury.
Both teams are coming off road wins against the Seattle Storm.
The Sparks are confident after a 108-106 double overtime win at Seattle on Aug. 1. Second-year forward Rickea Jackson scored a team-high 27 points. Plum had 22 points. Forwards Dearica Hamby and Azurá Stevens both added 21 points each, as the team’s quartet combined for 91 of the team’s 108 points (84.2%).
“It means a lot for my coaches and my teammates to trust in me in these crucial moments,” Jackson said. “At the end of the day, I just want to win for them.”
All four of the aforementioned players are averaging career highs in scoring under Sparks first-year coach Lynne Roberts and her pace-and-space style of play that has the team averaging nearly 25 3-point attempts per game.
Plum is averaging 20.3 points and six assists. Hamby is averaging 17.6 points and 8.1 rebounds. Stevens is averaging 14.9 points and 8.5 rebounds, while shooting 40.5% from 3-point range. Jackson, the team’s No. 4 selection in the 2024 draft, is averaging 13.9 points.
Meanwhile, Sparks forward Cameron Brink has played her first two games of her sophomore season on minutes restriction after spending 13 months recovering from a torn ACL injury. The 6-4 defensive standout is averaging six points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and two blocked shots in 13 minutes.
The Fever are coming off a 78-74 win at Seattle on Sunday. Natasha Howard scored a game-high 21 points. Sophie Cunningham had 17 points. All-Star center Aliyah Boston added a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Guard Kelsey Mitchell is the Fever’s leading scorer this season. Mitchell is averaging a career-high 19.5 points.
Tuesday’s Fever game will be followed by another home game against the last-place Connecticut Sun on Thursday.
“I’ll take accountability for that,” Plum said. “We’ve got to be able to win at home and I think that’s a lot part on me being better.”
The Sparks will host the Fever for the final time in the regular season on Aug. 29.
ROSTER MOVE
The Sparks will have 12 heathly players on their roster for the first time this season after signing forward Alissa Pili to a seven-day contract Sunday. She will be available to play in the next three games. Pili was the No. 8 selection in the 2024 draft by the Minnesota Lynx. The 5-11 second-year player averaged 2.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in 36 games before being waived by the Lynx on July 12.
The move reunites Pili with Roberts, who coached her during her final two collegiate seasons at Utah, where she shot above 40% from beyond the arc. She played her first three seasons in college at USC.
FEVER (17-12) AT SPARKS (12-15)
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV: Spectrum SportsNet/CBS Sports Network