Candace Parker, Sparks shake early doldrums, beat Wings

Candace Parker scored 22 points with 10 rebounds and six assists to lead the Los Angeles Sparks to a 91-83 victory over the Dallas Wings on Wednesday night.

Brittany Sykes added 19 points and Chelsea Gray 16 for the playoff-bound Sparks, who shot 52% overall and 53% (9 of 17) from 3-point range. Los Angeles bounced back from a 96-78 loss to Minnesota on Monday that snapped a nine-game winning streak.

Parker started off just 1-of-5 shooting as the Sparks (13-4) fell behind 23-17 after the first quarter. She then got going, scoring nine in a 31-point second period as the Sparks took a 48-39 lead at halftime. A Parker basket midway through the third quarter put Los Angeles up 18. She finished 8-of-15 shooting.

League-leading scorer Arike Ogunbowale finished with 17 points for Dallas — a point short of 1,000 for her career — for her 28th straight game of at least 15 points, the second-longest streak in WNBA history.

Satou Sabally had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Allisha Gray also scored 16 points for Wings (6-11), who are clinging to the eighth and final playoff berth.

The Sparks’ Nneka Ogwumike missed her second straight game with an ailing back.