Liberty look to recommit to defense against Sparks

The New York Liberty are in a defensive slump, and it has resulted in their tumble from first to third place in the standings.

Coming off another rough showing, the Liberty hope to start reversing the trend Thursday night when they host the Los Angeles Sparks in the opener of an eight-game homestand.

New York (11-5) is 2-5 in its past seven games since winning its first nine games. The Liberty allowed 71.4 points during their season-opening winning streak but are allowing 90.7 in their past seven, including at least 80 points in six of those games.

New York is attempting to avoid losing three straight for the first time since a five-game skid from July 7-21, 2022. The defending champions are returning home after taking a 90-81 loss to the Atlanta Dream on Sunday when they allowed 62 points in the paint.

Against the Dream, the Liberty trailed by 13 at halftime and by as many as 20. New York allowed Atlanta to shoot 52.9 percent after allowing Phoenix to shoot 52.6 percent in a 106-91 Mercury win on Friday.

"It's defense that is killing our transition," New York's Natasha Cloud said. "When you have to constantly take the ball out of the net, you don't get to run freely, you don't get to push pace against them. So that's just our defense."

Cloud scored 20 against Atlanta but Sabrina Ionescu was held to 14 and is shooting 21.6 percent (11-of-51) in the past four games.

Los Angeles (5-12) snapped a four-game losing streak when it earned an 85-75 road win over the Indiana Fever on June 26. Three days later, the Sparks fell short in a 92-85 home loss to the Chicago Sky when they retired Candace Parker's jersey at halftime.

Kelsey Plum scored 22 and has scored at least 20 in three straight games. She's averaging 20.6 points on the season. Dearica Hamby added 20 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double this season, but the Sparks were outscored 31-23 in the fourth quarter when they allowed 68.8 percent shooting.

"I feel like we're right there," Plum told the Los Angeles Times. "We're young, we lack depth and cohesion. Those things take time. I have faith that throughout the season we'll continue to build."

--Field Level Media