Sparks win second in a row with victory over Liberty

Nneka Ogwumike scored 22 points, Liz Cambage added 16 and the Sparks beat the New York Liberty 84-74 on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

Chiney Ogwumike contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds, Katie Lou Samuelson also had 12 points and Jordin Canada finished with 11 points and seven assists for the Sparks (9-11), who won consecutive games for the first time since the end of May.

Nneka Ogwumike made a layup midway through the third quarter to give the Sparks the lead for good at 53-52 and Chiney Ogwumike’s jumper with 1:22 left in the quarter stretched the lead to 65-57.

Crystal Dangerfield made a three-pointer, Han Xu hit a hook shot and Marine Johannes followed with another three-pointer to trim the Liberty’s deficit to 69-68 with 4:42 to play, but Cambage made baskets to open and cap a 10-2 spurt that gave the Sparks a 79-70 lead with two minutes left.

Johannes led the Liberty (8-12) with 17 points and Natasha Howard scored 13. Sabrina Ionescu had 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists but shot five for 18 from the field — including three for 12 from three-point range — and committed six turnovers.

Kristi Toliver left the game in the opening minutes because of a calf injury and did not return for the Sparks.