Sparks Roll Past Mercury on Way to a Higher Orbit
With a twinkle in his eye and a little smile, Michael Cooper looked at his happy band of Sparks, winners yet again.
“You know what? We’re good,” he said.
Duh. No kidding, coach.
The Sparks, with another closing rush that has become almost predictable, shut down Phoenix in the final nine minutes and cruised to a 77-63 victory that meant several things:
* The Sparks, at 27-3 and with two games left, tied Houston’s 1998 record of 27 wins--the most in a WNBA regular season.
* The victory extended their own record of 11 straight road wins and was their 11th straight overall.
* They swept the Phoenix season series, 3-0.
* And here’s what the Sparks like best of all: They clinched home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
“This was very important, what we did today,” Cooper said.
“We may see this team again soon, so, yes, this was a statement game for us.”
Phoenix, which had won five of its previous six, was seeking to lock up the Western Conference’s fourth playoff berth. But the Mercury (19-11) had to wait a few hours, or until Utah lost at Charlotte, 84-82.
That eliminated Utah and created a first-round playoff opener for the Sparks Friday against the Mercury at Phoenix.
Before 11,390 at America West Arena, the Sparks trailed only three times, the last time at 44-42. They dispatched the Mercury with a late-game run that reduced the “Beat L.A.!” chants to a whisper.
Again, it was Lisa Leslie in charge. She had 22 points and 14 rebounds, dominated Phoenix inside and passed expertly from the high post.
Cooper: “I think Lisa took a major step today to let everyone know she’s the MVP in this league.”
Again, the Sparks seemed better conditioned at the finish than their opponent.
“They looked fatigued, near the end,” Leslie said. “I was able to get in better rebound position the last six minutes.”
DeLisha Milton (11 points, seven rebounds, four assists) called it a training camp dividend.
“All those double-suicide runs Coop made us do in training camp are starting to pay off now,” she said.
Milton infuriated Mercury fans even before the tip-off, when she came to the Spark bench after the starters were introduced, holding up a “We’re No. 1” index finger.
“What’s happening to us now is that we’re so confident that we’re not going to get tired, we just know a surge or a run is coming, and that’s a good feeling,” Milton said.
Leslie had nine points in an extended run that took the Sparks from a 50-48 lead at 10:36 to 71-59 at 1:56, when she buried an eight-foot fadeaway jumper.
Mercury forward Brandy Reed had a game-high 25 points and for once neither Milton, Tamecka Dixon nor Mwadi Mabika could stop another team’s best scorer.
Reed has arrived as a premier WNBA scorer, scoring off the jump shot or drive.
When she made the last basket of the first half, a 15-foot jumper, a leaping Leslie had both hands in her face.
The Sparks, now one win away from their second 12-game winning streak this season, play at Seattle Tuesday, then finish the regular season Wednesday at Utah.