Sparks vs. Fire: Nneka Ogwumike Becomes Fourth Player in WNBA History to Reach 8,000 Points

Lisa Leslie got a statue. Nneka Ogwumike got a milestone. The Portland Fire got the worst seat at the party.

Ogwumike piled up 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, and the Los Angeles Sparks blew past Portland 105-84 on Sunday in front of 17,703 at Crypto.com Arena. Along the way, she crossed 8,000 career points, becoming the fourth player in WNBA history to get there, after Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles and DeWanna Bonner. On the same day, the Sparks unveiled a statue of Leslie outside the arena and honored her at halftime. Not a bad afternoon for Los Angeles basketball history.

A Close First Quarter, Then a Takeover

For about eight minutes, Portland hung right there. The Fire led by as many as two in the opening quarter, and the teams swapped the lead seven times on the afternoon. Then Tonie Morgan drilled a 3 for a 21-19 lead with 2:03 to go in the first quarter, and per the AP, the Sparks stayed in front for the rest of the game. Los Angeles led 28-26 after one.

The second quarter is where the game got away from Portland. With the score 33-31, the Sparks ripped off 12 straight points between the 6:46 and 4:37 marks to make it 45-31. Rae Burrell was the engine, scoring 10 points in the period, and Los Angeles won the quarter 32-15 to take a 60-41 lead into the break.

Then the Sparks kept the pedal down after the halftime festivities. A 10-0 run that started late in the second quarter carried into the third, ending with Los Angeles up 62-41 at the 9:42 mark. The Sparks pushed the lead as high as 24, led 85-65 after three and coasted home.

Ogwumike's Night

Ogwumike went 9 of 19 from the field, grabbed five offensive rebounds and did not commit a turnover in 27 minutes. She finished plus-20. According to the AP, the night left her with 8,013 career points, and her 18 double-doubles this season are the most she has had in any season. The 2016 WNBA MVP announced on Aug. 19 that she will retire after this season, per the AP, which gives every one of these milestone nights a little extra weight.

For context on the company she is keeping, the AP lists Taurasi at 10,646 career points, Charles at 8,396 and Bonner at 8,217. That is not a list. That is a Mount Rushmore with a waiting room.

Leslie Got Her Flowers

The halftime ceremony was a reminder of how deep the roots go in Los Angeles. Per the AP, Leslie won three WNBA MVP awards, played for the Sparks from 1999 through 2007, helped deliver championships in both 2001 and 2002, and entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. She is also a Los Angeles native, which made a statue outside the arena feel less like a tribute and more like a homecoming.

The Supporting Cast Showed Up

Burrell matched Ogwumike's 20 points, getting there on 5-of-8 shooting and an 8-of-9 night at the free-throw line, and she was plus-19. Ariel Atkins scored 14 on 5-of-7 shooting with a plus-20. Chance Gray gave Los Angeles 11 off the bench by making 3 of 5 from deep, and Emma Cannon scored 10.

The Sparks were sharp from everywhere. They shot 53% from the field on 33 of 62, made 14 of 29 from 3-point range and went 25 of 29 at the line. Erica Wheeler went 3 of 4 from deep, and Morgan made all three of her shots.

Los Angeles did all of this shorthanded. Per the AP, Dearica Hamby (knee) and Cameron Brink (ankle) both missed the game.

Portland's Bright Spots

Carla Leite was excellent for the Fire, scoring 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting and adding five assists. She also made 8 of 12 free throws. Charisma Osborne set a career high with 13 points, according to the AP, while Megan DiLeo added 11 and Emily Engstler scored 10.

Portland was playing without Bridget Carleton, who sat out with an ankle injury, per the AP. The Fire actually won the paint 42-28 and forced 16 turnovers, but they could not keep pace from the perimeter, going 6 of 27 from deep.

The Turning Point

The 12-0 run midway through the second quarter. Portland was down just two at 33-31, and the game had the feel of a back-and-forth afternoon. Two minutes later, the Sparks were up 14, and the Fire never got the deficit back under double digits for the rest of the half.

Stats That Matter

• 14 of 29: Los Angeles from 3-point range. Portland went 6 of 27.
• 32-15: The Sparks' second-quarter margin, the stretch that decided the game.
• 25 of 29: Los Angeles at the free-throw line, good for 86%.
• 42-28: Portland's edge in paint points, which turned out to be a footnote.
• 8,013: Ogwumike's career points after the game, per the AP.

What It Means

The Sparks improved to 16-26, including 8-13 at home, and completed a 3-0 season sweep of Portland. Los Angeles won 89-72 at home in June and 106-101 in Portland on Aug. 2 before this one. Next up is a Tuesday visit to Las Vegas.

The Fire dropped to 16-27, including 8-14 on the road. Portland has lost four straight and seven of its last eight, per the AP, and our recount of the schedule matches: the only win in that stretch came at Atlanta, 101-83, on Aug. 28. Portland's last regular-season game is Tuesday, a home date with Golden State.

Closing Take

This felt like a legacy sequel. The original star comes back for her moment, the crowd loses its mind, and the current lead delivers a scene of her own before the credits roll. Leslie got the statue, and Ogwumike, in the final season of her career, got her name on a list with only three others in league history. Somewhere down the line, there might be a statue of her outside that arena too. Sunday made a pretty strong case for it.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Additional context as reported by the Associated Press.