Nneka Ogwumike gets Sparks past Fever again

Nneka Ogwumike collected 25 points and nine rebounds to fuel the host Los Angeles Sparks to an 81-68 victory over the Indiana Fever on Thursday afternoon.

Ogwumike made 8 of 16 shots from the floor and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line to pace the Sparks (9-15) to their second victory over the Fever in the last three days. Ogwumike erupted for a season-high 30 points to go along with eight rebounds in Los Angeles' 79-78 victory over Indiana on Tuesday.

Jordin Canada recorded 21 points and seven assists, two days after she capped a 20-point performance by sinking the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds remaining.

The Sparks shot 87 percent from the foul line (20 of 23) and held a 42-32 edge in points in the paint. Conversely, the Fever went just 2 of 3 from the free-throw line.

Indiana's Erica Wheeler collected 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Kristy Wallace sank three 3-pointers to highlight her 13-point performance off the bench. Rookie Aliyah Boston added 12 points and six boards for the Fever (6-18), who have lost 11 of their last 12 games.

Ogwumike capped a 15-point first half by making a driving layup just before the buzzer to stake the Sparks to a 45-39 lead at intermission. Wheeler and Boston each scored 10 points to pace the Fever, who shot 53.1 percent from the floor (17 of 32) in the first half.

Ogwumike sank a mid-range jumper, a layup and two free throws to push Los Angeles' advantage to 58-46 with 4:07 remaining in the third quarter. The Sparks extended their lead to 66-53 by the end of the quarter.

Both teams struggled to locate their offense in the fourth quarter before Los Angeles slowly pulled away.

Canada drained a pull-up jumper and converted a three-point play to stake Los Angeles to a 78-63 lead with 2:30 to play. Canada added another driving layup to seal the win.