Indiana fever has arrived in Los Angeles draped in momentum: five consecutive victories, a talent to win without Caitlin Clark and lines from Paris shaking their way. Their tears was proof that they could follow the pace even with their centerpiece of franchise in street clothes.
But another story could have been hidden under Indiana.
The Sparks had torn off seven victories during their last eight outings, probably fueled by the rare luxury of having each piece of their list for the first time in more than a year. And at the end of the night at Crypto.com Arena, they won eight of the nine, the Sparks crushing a 100-91 victory.
Get gap since July 15 with a right -off injury, Clark never touched hardwood on Tuesday. But his presence was impossible to miss.
About an hour before the tip, Clark entered the arena for a wave of cries. Fans have piled their shoulders against banists and security barricades, stretching jerseys, bobblesheads and posters to it for autographs. But once the ball has increased, Clark left its footprint not in ink but as an assistant coach of his fever team.
For all the clark fire of the bench, the Sparks (13-15) seized his absence to fight against the control of one of the hottest teams in the league and get closer to a place in the playoffs.
Sparks coach Lynne Roberts, who spent much of the season juggling with alignments in the middle of the injury and turnover of the list, can finally expire, with a healthy departure five, Cameron Brink in uniform and a bench ready to contribute.
With stable rotations, stable results. The marking core of Sparks – Rickea Jackson and Kelsey Plum with 25 each, Dererica Hamby with 16 years old, and Azurá Stevens with 19 – carried the charge, while Julie German led the show with seven assists to go with five points and eight rebounds.
Halfway through the first quarter, Brink registered, hung a few boards and quickly filled Natasha Howard 6-foot 2 of 6 feet for the first of the five refusals she had entirely in the night.
After Rae Burrell turned in an acrobatic lay-up to place the sparks of 32-30, they never relaxed their grip, extending the margin up to 90-68 in the middle of the third quarter. But Aari McDonald and Kelsey Mitchell sparked a round of 21-5 who, suddenly, had the match uncomfortably tight with less than two minutes to play.
But in a building where the victories were rare, the sparks tightened it and gave it to the faithful of Los Angeles.
