ATLANTA — Alisha Gray and Tina Charles lead the Dream over the Sparks, 87-74.
Alisha Gray had a game high 25 points on 9/14 field goals. Tina Charles had a double double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
While Gray and Charles were efficient, the entire Atlanta shot well within the three-point line. The Dream shot 45.2% from two pointers while the Sparks were 37.2% from two.
Although the Sparks had a 1 point lead after three quarters, the efficiency disparity led to Atlanta dominating the fourth quarter.
“Just a disappointing fourth quarter [we] could not find any rhythm offensively,” Coach Miller said. “Their physicality bothered us [and] we were struggling around the rim.”
In the fourth quarter, the Sparks missed 67% of their shots at the rim while Atlanta made 67% of their shots at the rim.
Los Angles also mightily struggled to shoot on all two point shots in the fourth quarter. The Sparks were 2/10 on shots within the three point line. The Dream were 8/12 on two pointers in the fourth quarter.
The three point efficiency also favored the Dream. Atlanta was 75% on three-point shooting while Los Angeles was 37.5 from three pointers.
In the fourth quarter, the Dream were 11/16 from the field and the Sparks were 5/18 from the field. The shooting efficiency allowed for the Dream to outscore the Sparks 27-13, which led to an Atlanta victory.
Despite the shortcomings for the Sparks, the rookie duo of Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson both had 16 points each.
The Sparks have now lost three games in a row and fall to 4-10 on the season.
The Sparks will continue their road trip to Connecticut on Tuesday. The Sparks face the team with the best record in the league, the Connecticut Sun.
