Sparks hope to finish home stand strong against Sky

LOS ANGELES — The Sparks (9-11) halted all the bad vibes from the previous two weeks with a resounding win over the Fever on Wednesday.

They hope to keep the positive momentum against the Sky (7-14), who are not without their own problems.

The Sky went through a stretch where they lost 11 of 12 games. Rickea Jackson ended up in Chicago with the Ariel Atkins acquisition but she's out for the season due to a torn ACL. Skylar Diggins is not playing due to a knee injury but she raised some eyebrows after reacting on social media about her benching. They did defeat the Mercury in Phoenix in their last game, though.

They're still a very talented team. It's quite a mix of talent that signed in the Windy City. Courtney Vandersloot has finally recovered from her ACL injury. Azurá Stevens returned there after a three-year stint with the Sparks. Natasha Cloud went there after the Liberty decided not to re-sign her. Jacy Sheldon got traded there; it's her fourth team in three seasons. DiJonai Carrington went there as well but has yet to play a game because of her foot injury from last year. Gabriela Jaquez from UCLA was their prized first round pick in April's draft. Kamilla Cardoso is still there; she set a new record for most field goals in a game without a miss (13 for 13). And undrafted Sydney Taylor has emerged as a potent scorer for them.

But the Sparks, still without Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink, seem more worried about themselves. After a three-game swoon that saw them got blown out in each contest, they were able to get back on the saddle with a big win over the Fever on Wednesday.

"I think people were tired of how we were losing. Not just losing but how we were losing," Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike said after Wednesday's win. "We knew that there was more that we could give. I have to credit (Kelsey Plum). She had a really good talk with us yesterday. I think we all individually held ourselves accountable to be able to do more, to pour more into what we got going on. I took it upon myself to try my best to play harder in possessions. I know everyone had a little bit of feedback that she gave. Both encouragement and also points of improvement for each person. I think it was received. It was received in a way that not only did we want to change how we approach today but also to familiarize ourselves with sustaining the way that this feels moving forward."

"KP lit a fire in our asses," Sparks wing Rae Burrell added. "We was ready to play after that."

And the Sparks should bring this attitude on Friday. Any team can beat another on any given night. The Seattle Storm came into the Sparks' house and beat them handily. The Sparks can't keep having these mishaps if they want to make the playoffs this season.

"Yeah, we wanted to play hard," Ogwumike said. "We wanted to own each possession and to compete at every level for the full 40 minutes of play. It's really that simple. I think when you put your heart into playing that hard, the schemes, the plays, the execution, it comes to fruition. And tonight, it felt good emptying the tank as well. Just ensuring that anybody who was on the court was doing everything possible to make sure that we could win the possession."

Sometimes, it can be that easy. But will it be that easy against the Sky?

Or will it be that easy against the Sparks the way they performed in those three games before the Fever win? Which team will show up on Friday?

That's why they play the games.