LOS ANGELES — The surging Sparks were on the cusp of a .500 record for the first time since they were 1-1, but the reigning WNBA champions slowed their momentum on Tuesday night.

Kelsey Plum scored 26 points and Dearica Hamby added 21 points and eight rebounds for the Sparks, but they couldn’t catch the New York Liberty down the stretch and lost for just the third time in their past 12 games, 105-97, at Crypto.com Arena.

Emma Meesseman scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Jonquel Jones added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Liberty (21-11), who had their best scoring output of the season. Leonie Fiebich scored 20 points and Sabrina Ionescu added 14 points with six assists as New York avenged a 101-99 home loss to the Sparks late last month .

New York played wi

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