Sparks defeat Tempo for their first win of season

"Yeah, I think that's the way we want to play. The first couple games were not that," Coach Roberts said. "It's just like I told you guys before the game, it's a process. But we had six players in double figures, 26 assists on 37 makes, we just talked about that in the locker room. That's how we want to play.

"Now, if we can shore up defensively, just be a little bit tighter. I thought we made some mental errors in the fourth but it's good to still get the win and have to learn those hard lessons. But that's the way we want to play."

Wheeler wanted to make sure the ball was moving.

"I think like Coach said, like the first game that we played, we wasn't moving the ball as much," Wheeler said. "So I took that on my back and I made sure that happened.

"That's how we want to play so we showed that. And you can see how it looked; it looked really good. It felt good as a collective and that's it."

Coach and @EWeezy_For3eezy talk about the 26 assists the Sparks had in the game. Q by @johnwdavispic.twitter.com/scUG4NAv4M

— Rey-Rey (@TheNoLookPass) May 16, 2026

In the fourth quarter, the Sparks played their entire starting line-up for nearly the last 10 minutes. Cameron Brink came in the last 30 seconds for defensive purposes and the Sparks hung on.

"I think you have to credit Toronto there," Roberts conceded. "They were making a run and you got to go with who... yeah, go with the first group, so obviously that's not ideal in a long season but you got to do what you got to do to get a win."

I did not record my question because I am so good at this. But I asked why she was doing quick subs in the first half and then had the starters play nearly the entire fourth (Cameron came in for the final 31 seconds). pic.twitter.com/9Vr5QObBRA

— Rey-Rey (@TheNoLookPass) May 16, 2026

The Sparks just shot under 64 percent, which is a ridiculous percentage. But that's what ball movement does. They also shot 9 for 21 (.429) from three, which is much better than previous outings. The Tempo shot 44 percent while going 12 for 33 (.364) from behind the arc. The Sparks' energy was palpable. Brink had another emphatic block in the game, putting her in the Top 10 in Sparks franchise history in blocked shots.

Cameron Brink with the BIG-TIME block 😯@LASparks | @cameronbrink22pic.twitter.com/rlb7FAhy6y

— WNBA on ION (@IONWNBA) May 16, 2026

You're invited to Cam Brink's block party!

Congrats to @cameronbrink22 on entering the Top 10 in blocks in Sparks history. pic.twitter.com/ituU08VuTT

— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) May 16, 2026

<span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span>

The Sparks had six players in double figures and were led by Kelsey Plum with 27 points and nine assists. Nneka Ogwumike had an efficient 20 points (8 for 11 from the field) and Dearica Hamby was getting nifty lay-ups on her way to 19 points.

Former Spark Brittney Sykes led the Tempo with 27 points while Laura Juskaite had 16. UCLA alum Kiki Rice, who just won a national championship last month, put in 11 points. Marina Mabrey, who was tied as the leading scorer in the league going into Friday, was held to seven points and was ready to crash out about a certain thing while living in Canada.

The next challenge for the Sparks (1-2)? They have to do this again against the Tempo (1-2) on Sunday.