Fire beat Tempo 97-83 to snap 5-game skid, while Toronto loses 8th straight

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Carla Leite had 27 points and 11 assists and the Portland Fire snapped a five-game skid with a 97-83 win over Toronto on Thursday night, sending the Tempo to their eighth straight loss.

Leite made 5 of 12 shots with two 3-pointers and 15 of 17 free throws for Portland (11-19), which beat the Tempo 99-80 in Toronto on May 23 in the first matchup between the expansion teams.

Megan DiLeo added 17 points for the Fire. Bridget Carleton had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and reserve Frieda Buhner scored 10 points.

Nyara Sabally had 17 points for Toronto (10-21), which has lost 12 of its last 13 games. Julie Allemande pitched in with 11 points and 12 assists.

DiLeo had eight points on 4-for-5 shooting and Portland led 25-23 after one quarter.

Buhner hit a 3-pointer to give Portland its first double-digit lead at 45-35, and Leite hit a jumper with two seconds left for a 51-37 advantage at halftime.

Leite had 20 points by the end of the third quarter and the Fire led 81-59.

Aneesah Morrow had 11 points off the bench and scored with 3:08 left to get Toronto within 91-83 before Portland closed it out.

Tempo: At Atlanta Dream on Monday.

Fire: Hosts Seattle Storm on Saturday.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball