Sparks surge with emerging Ogwumike

They finish homestand by beating Dream to jump into sixth in tight postseason race as younger sister Chiney becomes key contributor.

Three weeks of home cooking helped the Sparks go from outside of the postseason picture to playoff pole position.

The Sparks finished their seven-game homestand Thursday with an 85-78 win over the Atlanta Dream, jumping into sixth place in a tight playoff race of five teams vying for three postseason berths.

The Ogwumike sisters powered the Sparks to a season-series-tying win against the Dream. Older sister Nneka finished with 20 points on nine-for-11 shooting, and Chiney added 15 points and seven rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end.

The Sparks finished 4-3 during their extended homestand with all three losses com

Adam Pantozzi NBAE/Getty Images CHINEY OGWUMIKE (13) drives to the basket against Atlanta. She averaged 10.2 points and seven rebounds in six games of L.A.’s seven-game run at home.