Cameron Brink injured as Sparks fall to Liberty despite 40-point fourth quarter
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NEW YORK — Sabrina Ionescu scored 20 points and the New York Liberty avoided one of the biggest collapses in WNBA history, holding off the Sparks 85-81 on Thursday night.
New York (21-14) led 69-41 early in the fourth quarter and looked poised to cruise to an easy victory when the Sparks scored 21 straight points to get within striking distance.
The Sparks (12-21) trailed 82-79 with 26.6 seconds left and were in position to match the Chicago Sky for the biggest comeback in league history. The Sky rallied from 28 down to beat Las Vegas in 2022. Rae Burrell got the Sparks to within one on a reverse layup with 22 seconds left. Ionescu then made two free throws with 14.8 remaining to restore the three-point advantage.
The Sparks got off to a hot start, but they could not move the ball well against Phoenix’s zone defense and lost to the Mercury on Tuesday night.
The Sparks had one last chance, but Ariel Atkins missed a three-pointer from the wing with seven seconds left and Ionescu made another free throw with 3.2 seconds left to seal the win.
The Sparks also lost Cameron Brink early in the fourth quarter. She helped key the game-changing run, drawing an offensive foul on Breanna Stewart. Brink was down on the court for a few minutes before being helped to the locker room with a towel over her head. She took a shot to the stomach area from Stewart that led to the offensive foul call. A few minutes earlier Brink and Burrell banged heads.
Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said Brink was being evaluated by doctors after a “brutal hit to the ribs,” but didn’t have an update other than that.
Burrell finished with a career-high 28 points.
New York got a scare in the third quarter when Ionescu left the game. She went down awkwardly after playing defense and quickly grabbed her right foot. She subbed out soon after and jogged up the tunnel back toward the locker room. She returned about four minutes later on the game clock to a nice ovation from the crowd.
Jonquel Jones was a big reason the Liberty built a 49-32 lead at the half by contributing 10 points and 12 rebounds. New York extended the advantage to 26 after three quarters and 69-41 before the Sparks rallied.
New York was still playing without Leonie Fiebich and Satou Sabally. Coach Chris DeMarco said that there’s no timetable on Fiebich’s return and that Sabally, who has been sidelined for more than a month after sustaining a concussion, was away from the team.
Up next for the Sparks: at Washington on Saturday.
