Sparks bounce back with win over Sun

LOS ANGELES >> After a rocky start at home against Connecticut, the Sparks rallied to keep their home record perfect this season.

The Sparks trailed by 14 points after the first quarter and looked out of sync in their first Staples Center appearance in two weeks. After a furious comeback in the second quarter and a pull-away second half, the Sparks (13-5) went on to win 87-77.

“They put us on our heels a little bit but we dug down,” Sparks coach Brian Agler said.

The Sparks are 8-0 at Staples Center. The Sun are one of just five teams in the WNBA with a winning record and they had won 10 of their last 12 games to rise into first place in the Easte Conference.

It was a statement game for reigning WNBA MVP Nneke Ogwumike, who was not on the list of 10 All-Star starters announced earlier in the week. Ogwumike is fourth in the league in scoring and 10th in rebounding and shooting 60 percent on the season. She proved herself once again among the league’s best on Thursday night with 29 points on 10 for 14 shooting, 11 rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.

Ogwumike said she will be on a list of All-Star reserves selected by the WNBA coaches; that list will be announced Tuesday.

“It’s an honor to be selected,” said Ogwumike. “Candace (Parker) obviously looked like a starter, too.”

Parker, the 2016 WNBA Finals MVP, was among the All-Star starters announced this week, and tued in a typically versatile performance with 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks.

Parker and Ogwumike played well off of each other and scored 49 of the team’s 87 points.

“It’s been a lot of fun watching her game grow,” Parker said of her teammate.

“Candace and Nneke really bring out the best in each other,” Agler said.

The All-Star Game will take place July 22 in Seattle and will be televised on ABC at 12:30 p.m.

Thursday against the Sun, the Sparks trailed 32-18 after one quarter, tuing the ball over four times and shooting just 35 percent. Over the next 20 minutes they outscored the Sun 51-25 to take a 69-57 lead into the fourth quarter, buoyed in large part by Ogwumike’s scoring outburst.

The Sun cut the lead to five points midway through the fourth quarter before the Sparks answered with back-to-back buckets from Ogwumike and Parker.

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Aside from the All-Star duo, the Sparks were led by Chelsea Gray, who missed some time with an injury, but still had 17 points and three assists.

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