Sparks are overpowered by Mystics without All-Star Nneka Ogwumike

There’s a reason why Nneka Ogwumike was the Sparks’ only All-Star this year.

With the star forward out because of a non-COVID illness Tuesday, two days after starting in her seventh All-Star Game, the Sparks lost 94-81 to the Washington Mystics at Crypto.com Arena.

Ogwumike, the Sparks’ leading scorer and rebounder with 18.8 points and 7.2 rebounds, was added to the team’s injury report about 75 minutes before tip-off after she was not seen at practice Monday and missed shootaround Tuesday morning.

Without their team captain, the Sparks, the second-best paint-scoring team in the league, were outscored 40-26 in the paint. Liz Cambage had just eight points and three rebounds on three-for-nine shooting. She took only four free throws. Chiney Ogwumike stepped into the starting lineup for her older sister and scored 10 points with 10 rebounds for her second double-double in her last three games.

Mystics star Elena Delle Donne, who was recovering from back surgery for the past two seasons, played in L.A. for the first time since 2019 and dropped 26 points in 27 minutes on 10-for-14 shooting. The former most valuable player drained a corner three-pointer with 5:49 to remaining in the fourth to stymie a comeback attempt after the Sparks cut the deficit to five.

The Mystics (15-10) improved to 12-4 when Delle Donne plays this year.

Sparks guard Brittney Sykes returned from a four-game COVID-19 absence with a team-high-tying 16 points off the bench. The Sparks (10-13) went 3-1 without Sykes, but the 5-foot-9 guard knew her team was laboring through a busy stretch that ended with a blowout loss to Seattle on Thursday.

Sykes isolated immediately after testing positive prior to the July 1 game against the Dallas Wings. Unable to fly home, the guard found refuge in teammate Kristi Toliver’s Dallas home, where she stayed with Toliver’s older sister Carli. After that week together, Sykes joked she became “an honorary Toliver.”

Sykes, who didn’t return to L.A. until Friday, remained active during her isolation with biking and swimming, but said Tuesday morning she was still concerned about how her body would react on the court after the virus. It didn’t appear to slow her down at all.

The energetic guard scored 12 points in the first half as the Sparks relied on outside shooting from Katie Lou Samuelson to stay competitive. The Santa Ana Mater Dei alumna had 16 points on six-for-eight shooting, including four three-pointers.