Tempo vs. Sparks: Brittney Sykes Scores Career-High 38, Goes 15 for 15 at the Line in 106-96 Win

Brittney Sykes shot 15 free throws in Los Angeles on Sunday, and the rim never once told her no. She also made 10 field goals, and by the time the horn sounded she had wiped out a personal best that dated back to her days in a Sparks uniform.

The Toronto Tempo won 106-96 at crypto.com Arena, handing the Los Angeles Sparks their third loss in four games, because Sykes put up a career-high 38 and because Kiki Rice, a rookie making her first start, scored 19 a short drive from where she starred at UCLA. It is Toronto's first road win, and it evens the Tempo at 2-2.

Forty-Eight Hours Changed Everything

Two days earlier, in this same building, the Tempo were down 21-2 before they found their footing, and they lost 99-95. This time they did not wait around. After an early tie at 18, Toronto closed the first on a 9-3 run for a 27-21 lead and never gave it back. It was 49-40 at the half and 79-67 after three, with the margin peaking at 17.

Los Angeles kept making shots, which is what makes this one strange. Kelsey Plum scored 20 in the second half, and it was a six-point game after her two free throws with 4:29 to go. That was the moment Sykes decided to close the show personally. A driving layup and the foul, then two more at the line, and the Sparks were looking at 94-83 with 3:51 left.

The Sparks still had one more push in them. Nneka Ogwumike hit a 24-foot three and Plum followed with a running layup, and it was 96-89 with 2:06 remaining. Maria Conde and Plum traded baskets. Then the fourth quarter turned into a free-throw contest that only one team could win: Sykes made four in 13 seconds, Rice made two more, and it was 104-91 with 1:06 left.

The Foul Line Was the Whole Game

Look at the rest of the box score and you would guess Los Angeles won. The Sparks made more field goals, 33 to 29. They shot 52% to Toronto's 48%. They had 26 assists to 17, won the paint 48-38, and took second-chance points 20-12.

Then look at the line. Toronto went 39-of-42. Los Angeles went 23-of-30. That is 16 extra points in a 10-point game. There were 59 fouls called, Rae Burrell and Cameron Brink each finished with six, and Plum and Erica Wheeler each had five, so the Sparks spent the afternoon guarding with one eye on the scorer's table. Sykes and Marina Mabrey alone made 23 free throws. You can be better at nearly everything else and still lose to that.

Sykes, Rice and a Very Proud Videographer

Sykes went 10-of-21 from the field and 3-of-8 from three, and she added three steals in 38 minutes. Eleven of her points came in the last five minutes, when the game was still technically in question. Her old high of 35 came in 2022, while she was playing for Los Angeles, which gives this one a small extra twist for the fans who remember.

Rice was the other story. She had come off the bench Friday for 11, and in her first start she scored 19 on 5-of-8 shooting, went 8-of-10 at the line, grabbed five rebounds and did not commit a turnover in 35 minutes. Toronto picked her sixth in the draft, and Cori Close, fresh off coaching UCLA to its first NCAA title last month, sat courtside filming her former player. That is either the most wholesome scouting trip in the sport or the best home movie of the year.

Mabrey needed only two field goals to get 14, thanks to 8-of-8 at the line. Kia Nurse gave Toronto 10 in 12 minutes off the bench and finished plus-15, the best mark in the game, and Teonni Key added six points and seven rebounds despite five fouls of her own.

Plum kept doing Plum things for Los Angeles: 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting, seven assists and 9-of-11 at the line. The Sparks say no player in WNBA history has ever opened a season like this: four games of at least 25 points, shooting 55.0% or higher from the field. Dearica Hamby had 21 and nine rebounds, Ogwumike scored 17 and climbed past Candace Parker into second on the Sparks' all-time list for made free throws, and Kate Martin gave them 11 off the bench. Wheeler, though, went 1-of-9.

The Numbers That Mattered

• 39-of-42: Toronto at the line, 93% on a volume most teams never sniff.
• 15-of-15: Sykes, who could have had a career night on free throws alone.
• 18-8: Toronto in points off turnovers.
• 59: Total fouls, in a game with very little flow and a lot of whistle.

Even in Toronto, Urgent in Los Angeles

The Tempo are 2-2 overall and 1-1 on the road, and they keep this four-game trip going Tuesday in Phoenix. After a split in Los Angeles, they have proof they can recover from a bad night in about 48 hours.

The Sparks fall to 1-3, and all four of those games were at home. Now comes a four-game road trip, starting Thursday in Phoenix. Head coach Lynne Roberts wants more than one player carrying the offense. "It makes KP have to do too much, and she was phenomenal today, but we got to have other people share the load and be fearless and move the ball," she said. She also did not want anyone losing their minds yet. "We're four games in, it would be immature to panic," Roberts said.

The Sequel Was Better

Sequels are supposed to disappoint, especially in the town that manufactures them. Friday's Sykes scored 27 and lost. Sunday's Sykes scored 38, did not miss at the line and walked out with a win. That is The Godfather Part II with a free-throw subplot, and Los Angeles of all places should know how rarely that happens.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details as reported by the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Sparks. Postgame quotes from the Los Angeles Sparks.