Natasha Cloud keys Liberty's comeback against Sparks

Natasha Cloud scored a season-high 23 points as the New York Liberty overcame an 11-point deficit, took control late in the third quarter and rallied for an 89-79 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday.

The Liberty (12-5) won for just the third time in their past eight games following its season-opening nine-game winning streak. New York, which opened an eight-game homestand on Thursday, also avoided dropping three straight for the first time since July 7-21, 2022, thanks largely to outscoring the Sparks 32-18 in the third period.

Sabrina Ionescu missed 10 of her first 11 shots before adding 17 of her 20 points in the second half. Ionescu, who finished 7-for-18 from the floor, hit the go-ahead basket in the third-quarter surge.

Breanna Stewart contributed 17 points and 14 rebounds for New York, which shot 42.9 percent and scored 23 points off 18 Los Angeles turnovers. Kennedy Burke sank four of the Liberty's 12 3-pointers while scoring 12 points.

The Liberty re-inserted Leonie Fiebich into the starting lineup after the forward played for Germany in the EuroBasket event, and she contributed five points.

Dearica Hamby led all scorers with 25 points, but the Sparks (5-13) continued to struggle protecting leads and fell for the sixth time in seven games. Kelsey Plum added 13 points on 2-of-10 shooting, but Los Angeles hit 48.2 percent overall.

Los Angeles scored the game's first six points and held a 41-37 lead at halftime.

Hamby scored seven consecutive Los Angeles points, and the Sparks took a 53-42 lead with 6:07 left in the third on her layup. The Liberty went on a 27-6 run the rest of the quarter.

New York scored 13 straight points, with Ionescu's basket giving the Liberty a 55-53 lead with 3:41 left in the period. After consecutive hoops by Los Angeles, Ionescu sank two treys in a span of 54 seconds for a 61-57 lead, and the Liberty were up 69-59 entering the fourth.

Hamby's basket cut the Sparks' deficit to 81-76 with 3:15 to go, but following a turnover by Cloud, Hamby missed a 3-point attempt and Fiebich sank a 3-pointer on the next possession bring the lead back to eight.

--Field Level Media