Las Vegas, NV- Los Angeles Sparks are on a two-game winning streak after hitting the road and securing their third win of the season against Las Vegas Aces, with a sweet 38-point MVP game performance from Kelsey Plum to lead her team to a 101-95, win.
Both teams opened the game going head-to-head with each team’s leading scorer getting buckets, while Ája Wilson warmed up with just eight, Plum got hot and put up 14 just in the first quarter, 32-30 Sparks advantage.
“I’m just trying to go out and be super-patient and really take what the defense gives and […] let it come, “Plum said. “I think that […] when you get to a point in the league, you’ve […] seen a lot of different coverages, so I’m just trying to be patient and trust, and […] I really appreciate that Coach has a lot of trust in me, and my teammates trust me to make decisions. I just want to get better.”
By the second quarter, each team cooled down and if it wasn’t for NaLyssa Smith gathering three crucial offensive boards for second chance possessions and drawing multiple fouls, her Aces team wouldn’t have held a six-point lead to enter halftime, 52-46.
Smith picked up where Wilson started to accompany Chennedy Carter bench production whom gave her team a huge boost with 16 points while their return starter and star guard Jackie Young went scoreless as she remained that way for the entire game. Plum went scoreless in the second and her response in the second half was not the same story as for Young.
“The players we got in free agency, KP played a big role in that because she’s a competitor in that space too,” Sparks’ Head Coach Lynne Roberts said. “She said it at the end, she just wants to keep getting better, and that’s real. I personally don’t think she gets talked about enough in the best-player or MVP conversations. For whatever reason, she doesn’t get enough recognition, and that’s kind of an injustice. She’s fun to coach.”
Plum went back to work in the third with 12 points while Wilson posted 11 points for the Aces but they could not stop Plum from scoring or assisting her teammates to score as she dropped four dimes just in the quarter alone, closing in on the Aces’ lead to one, 72-73.
“We’re adding three All-Stars to our team. It’s going to take a minute for us to figure out, for me to figure out, all of us […], what works, what doesn’t, and […] Rae [Burrell]’s a starter in this league, but we needed to have Ariel [Atkins] on the floor defensively. You saw it tonight […], she’s just so tough defensively. Having Erica Wheeler] at the one allows [Kelsey Plum] to get off ball a little bit, open things up for her, and then bring the punch off the bench with Rae [Burrell […], that’s […] the thinking […]”
Fourth quarter was dèjavu for Plum, scoring another 12 points along with three assists to trump the Aces with a wildcard victory after Plum knocked down her seventh and eighth free throw of the game to go perfect from the charity stripe. Prior, Erica Wheeler hit a big side step three pointer to give the Sparks the go ahead, 97-94 then Hamby and Plum nailed their free throws to break 100 and payback their former team.
Next up the Sparks will be able to rest up and prepare for their upcoming road game on May 29th against the youngest team in the league, Washington Mystics within a five-day window.