The Los Angeles Sparks are getting reinforcements to make a building team even better.

After getting Azura Stevens (back) into their lineup for the first time on Tuesday night in a loss at Seattle, Los Angeles welcomed Jasmine Thomas (knee) into the playing rotation during Friday night’s 77-62 home win over Chicago.

Stevens and Thomas get another chance to chip off rust on Sunday night when the Sparks (4-3) travel to Minneapolis for a matchup with the struggling Minnesota Lynx (1-7).

Thomas, who played for Los Angeles coach Curt Miller last year in Connecticut, worked 12 minutes in her season debut, finishing with five points and a rebound. Stevens went 0-for-7 from the floor Friday night in 13 minutes but pulled down six rebounds and blocked a shot.

“Excited about the potential but again, (you) have to get cobwebs off people that missed significant time,” Miller said. “They all want to be coached and pushed to become their old self but you have to give them some time to get back into a rhythm.”

Nneka Ogwumike scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds Friday night. She averages team-leading totals in both categories (20.3, 10.0).

Meanwhile, Minnesota missed a chance to earn consecutive wins when it dropped a 71-69 decision at home Friday night to Indiana in a matchup of the WNBA’s last-place teams. The Lynx hit just 38.1 percent from the field to cancel out a good defensive effort.

“Defensively, we put ourselves in position to be successful,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. “(We allowed) 71 points, you’ve got to be able to win that one.”

Instead, the Lynx lost because of poor shooting and turnovers. They committed 14 turnovers that led to 20 points for the Fever. Minnesota was outscored 19-0 in fast-break points.

Napheesa Collier, who scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, is averaging a team-high 19.8 points per game on the season.

The Lynx won two of three meetings last year, although the road team won every game in the series.

–Field Level Media