Liz Cambage delivers big performance in Sparks’ victory over Fever
Liz Cambage had 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds, Brittney Sykes added 17 points and had five steals, and the Sparks beat the Indiana Fever 87-77 on Sunday.
Nneka Ogwumike had 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals for Los Angeles (2-0), which won its first two games for the first time since 2018. Chennedy Carter had 12 points, five assists and two blocks, and Jordin Canada scored 10 points with five assists.
Carter made back-to-back baskets as the Sparks scored the first 10 points in a 21-7 run that made it 48-38. Lexie Brown hit a three-pointer — the Sparks’ only three of the game — with 7:39 left in the third quarter and L.A. never again trailed.
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Indiana (0-2) tied the score three times from there, the last coming when Alanna Smith’s layup tied it 64-64 with seven minutes to play, but Canada answered with a driving layup to ignite a 10-0 spurt and the Fever couldn’t recover.
Destanni Henderson, the No. 20 overall selection in last month’s draft, scored a season-high 19 points for Indiana. Kelsey Mitchell had 15 points and seven assists, NaLyssa Smith had 13 points and nine rebounds and Alanna Smith finished with 10 points.
The Sparks shot 47.9% (34 of 71) overall — despite hitting just one of 10 from three-point range — and made 18 of 20 from the free-throw line.
Indiana made 10 of 26 (38.5%) from behind the arc but shot just 36.5% (19 of 52) from two-point range.
Jordin Canada had 21 points and eight assists in her Sparks debut to help L.A. open the season with an overtime win over defending champion Chicago.
