Johnson, Christmas-Kelly help Wings hold off Sparks, 85-79

Posted August 06, 2017 7:00 am

The Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Glory Johnson had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Karima Christmas-Kelly scored 17 points to help the Dallas Wings beat the Los Angeles Sparks 85-79 on Sunday.

Skylar Diggins-Smith had eight of her 14 points in the fourth quarter and Aerial Powers finished with 12 for Dallas (13-14).

Johnson hit a short jumper to give the Wings the lead for good and spark a 10-2 run that made it 81-73 when Diggins-Smith made a layup after a steal by Theresa Plaisance. Chelsea Gray hit two free throws to trim L.A.'s deficit to 83-79 with 35 seconds left, but Diggins-Smith answered with two foul shots nine seconds later to seal it.

Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike led the Sparks (18-7) with 21 points apiece, while Odyssey Sims scored 14 and Gray added 12. Los Angeles made just 2 of 15 from 3-point range and was outrebounded 47-31, including 16-4 on the offensive glass. The Sparks had their four-game win streak snapped.

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