FINAL · GAME DETAIL
Los Angeles Sparks
vs Minnesota Lynx
One game ID connects the final, quarter flow, leading player lines and season position.
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LA | 18 | 21 | 28 | 20 | 87 |
| MIN | 12 | 25 | 31 | 28 | 96 |
GAME FLOW · NUMBERS
Reconstructing the game from the quarter line
Minnesota Lynx finished ahead of Los Angeles Sparks, 96-87, a 9-point margin. The first-half totals were 39 for Los Angeles Sparks and 37 for Minnesota Lynx; the third- and fourth-quarter totals were 48 and 59. The combined final of 183 matches the sum of the two quarter lines across 4 periods, including any overtime.
1Q: LA 18-MIN 12, 18-12 cumulative; 2Q: LA 21-MIN 25, 39-37 cumulative; 3Q: LA 28-MIN 31, 67-68 cumulative; 4Q: LA 20-MIN 28, 87-96 cumulative. Reading the period score beside the running score identifies exactly when the gap expanded or contracted. Los Angeles Sparks's highest-scoring period was 28 points, while Minnesota Lynx's high was 31; the final separation was 9 points.
The first-half margin was 2 points, compared with 11 across the third and fourth quarters. Splitting the final this way preserves two distinct parts of the game instead of reducing it to one score. The quarter table above provides the same sequence as team scores and cumulative totals for direct comparison.
BOX SCORE READ
Team indicators and leading player lines
Los Angeles Sparks recorded 48% from the field, 32% from three and 84% at the line; Minnesota Lynx posted 50%, 32% and 83%. Rebounds finished 31-25, assists 22-21 and turnovers 17-11. The same team box reports a 32-34 split in paint points and 5-7 in offensive rebounds.
Rae Burrell led Los Angeles Sparks with 24 points. Nneka Ogwumike supplied a team-high 12 rebounds, while Erica Wheeler led with 6 assists. For Minnesota Lynx, the corresponding leaders were Kayla McBride with 24 points, Natasha Howard with 10 rebounds and Natasha Howard with 6 assists.
The player tables contain minutes, points, rebounds, assists, shooting and on-court differential for 9 recorded participants from LA and 10 from MIN. Reading those rows beside the team totals connects the final score, shooting efficiency and possession outcomes to specific player production without substituting an unsupported judgment for the box score.
SEASON CONTEXT · 2026
Locating both teams through standings and head-to-head results
In the current table, Los Angeles Sparks are 10-17, No. 11 overall and No. 6 in the West, 12.5 games behind the conference leader. Minnesota Lynx are 24-6, No. 1 overall and No. 1 in the West, 0 games back. Their cumulative point differentials are -136 and +282.
Counting only completed standard-season results through this game, Los Angeles Sparks stood at 10-13 across 23 games and Minnesota Lynx at 19-6 across 25. Their most recent sets of up to five finals were 2-3 and 4-1. Scoring in those short windows was 451-458 for the away team and 465-442 for the home team, keeping recent form separate from the full-season record.
Across 2 completed meetings in the same season, Los Angeles Sparks recorded 0 wins and Minnesota Lynx 2; aggregate scoring was 170-195. The teams are separated by 10 places in the overall order and by 14 cumulative wins. Standings, the recent five-game window and the season series cover different sample sizes, so they are presented as three numerical views of the same matchup rather than collapsed into one rating.
Team box score
| Stat | LA | MIN |
|---|---|---|
| FG% | 48 | 50 |
| 3P% | 32 | 32 |
| FT% | 84 | 83 |
| Rebounds | 31 | 25 |
| Assists | 22 | 21 |
| Turnovers | 17 | 11 |
| Paint points | 32 | 34 |
Los Angeles Sparks
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | FG | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ariel Atkins * | 35 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 3-11 | -2 |
| Nneka Ogwumike * | 33 | 23 | 12 | 5 | 10-16 | -13 |
| Rae Burrell * | 33 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 8-14 | -4 |
| Dearica Hamby * | 32 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 4-10 | 3 |
| Erica Wheeler * | 30 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 3-8 | -3 |
| Cameron Brink | 15 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3-5 | -8 |
| Kiana Williams | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0-0 | -8 |
| Jihyun Park | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0-1 | -1 |
| Chance Gray | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | -9 |
| Emma Cannon | COACH'S DECISION | – | – | – | –-– | – |
| Kelsey Plum | LEFT LEG INJURY | – | – | – | –-– | – |
| Kate Martin | COACH'S DECISION | – | – | – | –-– | – |
Minnesota Lynx
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | FG | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courtney Williams * | 35 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 7-13 | -3 |
| Natasha Howard * | 32 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 5-8 | 8 |
| Kayla McBride * | 31 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 8-16 | 13 |
| Nia Coffey * | 29 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 3-6 | -2 |
| Olivia Miles * | 26 | 18 | 4 | 5 | 7-14 | -1 |
| Anastasiia Olairi Kosu | 17 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1-3 | 17 |
| Antonia Delaere | 14 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2-3 | 12 |
| Maya Caldwell | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1-4 | 2 |
| Eliska Hamzova | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-1 | 4 |
| Liatu King | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | -5 |
| Napheesa Collier | LEFT ANKLE SURGERY | – | – | – | –-– | – |
| Dorka Juhasz | RIGHT KNEE SORENESS | – | – | – | –-– | – |
| Emma Cechova | RIGHT ACL SURGERY | – | – | – | –-– | – |