Cameron Brink returns for Sparks, but Aces halt their win streak

LOS ANGELES — Cameron Brink’s highly anticipated return was spoiled by A’ja Wilson’s dominant effort, as the Sparks’ five-game winning streak came to an end with an 89-74 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

The Sparks cut the margin to 77-63 on Rae Burrell’s layup with 4:38 left, but they never got within single digits in the second half in a game the Aces led wire to wire.

The Sparks fell behind 23-7 with 3:03 left in the first quarter as Wilson scored a quick 17 points (8-of-8 shooting) to pace her squad before Brink even took the court.

Playing her first game in 13 months after recovering from a left ACL injury that required surgery, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft entered the game to cheers with 2:39 left in the first quarter and the Sparks trailing 26-9.

The 6-foot-4 forward, playing her first game since June 18, 2024, drained her first shot, a 3-point attempt. She finished the night shooting 1 for 3 from the field. She also made both of free throws while playing 14 minutes, finishing with five points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal, one blocked shot and a turnover.

“I’m just happy to be back,” Brink said before the game. “It’s been a long road so I’m just going to try to have fun.”

When she wasn’t in the game, Brink cheered from the bench, rising to urge in shots while the Sparks played catchup most of the night.

The Sparks (11-15) remain in 10th place in the league standings. They are trying to play their way into playoff contention behind the Washington Mystics and Golden State Valkyries.

All-Star guard Kelsey Plum had a team-high 22 points and eight assists for the Sparks. Burrell scored a season-high 17 points off the bench, and Dearica Hamby added 15 points and six rebounds.

Wilson, the reigning league MVP, finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocked shots for the Aces (14-13), who won for the fifth time in their past seven games. All-Star guard Jackie Young had a triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, while Dana Evans added 10 points.

The Sparks trailed 31-18 at the end of the first. A Hamby layup cut the Aces’ lead to single digits at 31-22 with 7:37 left in the second quarter, but the visitors held a 48-34 advantage at halftime with Wilson scoring nearly half of their points (23).

The Sparks, who trailed 70-53 at the end of the third quarter, committed 20 turnovers which the Aces turned into 19 points.

Brink said beforehand that she was looking forward playing alongside Hamby and Azurá Stevens.

“It makes it really easy,” Brink continued. “They’re All-Stars in my book, so I’m just going to come in and do what I can do off the bench and help them be great.”

She also shared what she missed about not being able to play basketball while recovering from the injury that brought her rookie season to an early end.

“I missed everything about but I really learned how to be a good teammate,” Brink explained. “I learned all the little nuances of the game that I usually wouldn’t.”

Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said before the game that Brink will be on a minutes restriction for now.

“It’s a hard injury to come back from, mentally and physically, and she’s done it with a smile on her face,” she said. “The expectation for her is to get out there and enjoy the moment. She doesn’t have to score 20. It would be great if she did, but I want her to just be in the moment, be present and grateful that she’s back out there.”

Brink averaged 2.3 blocked shots per game as a rookie, which was second in the league last year to Wilson.

“Bringing her defense into our rotation is going to be really critical,” Roberts said. “She’s incredibly athletic, bouncy, can run and that’s the kind of style we want to play. She can play with pace. She’s very skilled for her length. She can shoot and she’s going to be able to do all of that stuff with how we play.”

Fellow second-year forward Rickea Jackson echoed Roberts’ assessment of Brink.

“She’s intimidating,” Jackson explained. “Nobody wants to challenge her. No one wants to go up against her … just having that intimidating factor of Cam back, I feel like it’s going to make our team go up even more.”

UP NEXT

The Sparks play at Seattle (16-11) on Friday at 7 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ION.

Cameron Brink before her first WNBA game in 13 months. Brink was recently cleared to play after last year’s season ending ACL injury. pic.twitter.com/0gudCxpdg2

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) July 30, 2025

Rickea Jackson on Cameron Brink’s impact on defense. Jackson said Brink is intimidating for opponents when they are trying to drive to the basket. pic.twitter.com/0bA16dVrDb

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) July 30, 2025