Sparks couldn't close against Mercury in fourth quarter

LOS ANGELES -- The Sparks couldn't make it two wins in a row.

Natasha Cloud broke a tie with 41 seconds to play with a layup and Aari McDonald missed a 3-pointer that paved the way for the Mercury to leave Crypto.com Arena with an 84-78 win over he Sparks on Sunday.

As it has happened multiple times this season, it came down to the fourth quarter. And coach Curt Miller wasn't exactly happy about that.

"You gotta win some ugly games and they found a way to win a really really ugly game both ways," Miller said. "They have closers on the end. 

"And, again, we got a lot of shots at the rim. But you gotta make uncontested layups, uncontested pull-ups, uncontested threes. I'm really frustrated that we couldn't go close that game."

The fourth quarter doomed the Sparks (5-16), who shot 5 for 20 from the field. They still had a chance to win the game but they had to play the foul game after McDonald missed her three.

"You saw all the missed opportunities around the rim," Miller said. "It wasn't up to our standard on what we have to be offensively. 

"The execution, the spacing, the timing of things, the physicality of things; those weren't all good enough. And still, they had a chance to win if you could outplay them for the last four minutes. In that situation, you gotta have closers and tonight, our team out there looked a little hesitant on who really wanted the ball in those big moments."

All-star Dearica Hamby said the Sparks had more than enough shots to win.

"We got 15 more shots than them. If you look at the numbers, you might have thought we won, honestly," Hamby said. "We just gotta be better. 

"We talked about the composure at the end of the game or having slippage on one of the quarters to close out. It hurt us tonight."

Composure was also brought up against the Aces. The lack of composure allowed lthe Mercury (11-10) to score six straight to end the game. 

The Sparks were better on offensive rebounding (10-7) and taking care of the ball (nine turnovers to the Mercury's 16). But Natasha Cloud's career-high 31 points made up for Diana Taurasi and Rebecca Allen, both of whom were sidelined with injuries.

"When you know DT's out and you're a dog like she is, she was gonna will that team to the finish line," Miller said. "And you need closers. No one's gonna tell Natasha that she's not the best player on the floor every time she plays. 

"Attitude is everything. I thought she was confident in crunch time. We looked around to see who was our closer tonight."

Added Hamby: "She hit midranges. She dictated kind of what she wanted to happen and some slippage on our coverages. First half, we were supposed to be switching and second half, we weren't locked in defensively on her."

To add to the damage, Kahleah Copper scored 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out five assists. 

Rickea Jackson scored a career-best 22 points for the Sparks.

"Being a rookie has its ups and its downs," Jackson said. "But what's been getting me through is my teammates and my coaches, honestly. They're always there for me. 

"They're always encouraging me. They always come to give myself grace, being a rookie and things like that. That has helped a ton."

The Sparks were led by Hamby's 25 points. It was also the first game of the season for Azura Stevens, who played most of the second half after Stephanie Talbot was sidelined with a right foot injury in the first quarter. 

Stevens scored 10 points and held her own against Brittney Griner, who was held to nine points.

The Sparks next play the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night to end their four-game homestand.