Nneka Ogwumike pinpoints what doomed Sparks in loss to Dream

The Los Angeles Sparks had their two-game win streak snapped following their 101-92 loss to the Atlanta Dream on Monday, but it was not without a fight. The Sparks faced an 11-point deficit at halftime, but rallied back to surge ahead briefly in the fourth quarter. But as hard as the Sparks were playing in the second half, effort has to be combined with execution, according to Nneka Ogwumike.

Turnovers have been one of the Sparks’ Achilles heels all season long, and it reared its ugly head as they were battling back and forth with the Dream up until the final couple of minutes of the fourth quarter.

“I think that we were trying to make something happen, but we had key turnovers, including myself. We were playing hard, but I think we could have dialed up a little bit on the execution of it all,” Ogwumike said during her postgame press conference. “That’s something that has been a point of emphasis for us.”

The Sparks finished the game with 18 turnovers, and the Dream converting 21 points off those giveaways. The game was tied at 87 at the four minute mark of the fourth quarter, and the Sparks committed four turnovers from that point until the two minute mark. Those turnovers also coincided with a 7-0 run from the Dream, putting them in control of the game for the final stretch.

The Sparks had just gone on a big run of their own, 14-2, to erase a 12 point deficit at the end of the third quarter and pull even at 83. That run extended to 18-4 as the Sparks surged ahead, 87-85. Sometimes basketball is a game of runs and the Dream answered when it mattered most.

“It was a game of runs, especially in that second half,” said Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts during her postgame press conference. “We came out of halftime down 11, we won the second half, but it was a game of runs and Atlanta made the last run … we had a couple really key turnovers that just kind of sunk us. That’s what happened.”

The Sparks’ road trip continues with a visit to Minnesota to face off against the Lynx on Wednesday, an opportunity to erase the memory of the Dream loss and get back in the win column. Short-term memory is the key to getting past losses in the WNBA.

“The beauty of this league is that on Wednesday we can try and get that back,” Ogwumike said. “But all credit to Atlanta. They really tapped in those last two minutes.”

With the loss, the Sparks fell to 10-12 and one and half games behind the Washington Mystics for the eighth seed in the WNBA standings. Despite the Sparks’ inconsistency this season, there is still belief that they can turn things around.

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