Sparks Keep Up Torrid Pace

It’s a march to a championship, Spark Coach Michael Cooper told his team.

But a measured, one-step-at-a-time march.

How long can the Sparks keep it up? It’s now six consecutive victories and 18 of their last 19.

The Sparks blew open a tight game with Orlando Tuesday night early in the second half and sailed home with a 78-63 victory before 6,462 at the Great Western Forum.

It was another defensive gem--particularly the second half--and again the best of the defenders was Tamecka Dixon.

She guarded Orlando’s Nykesha Sales for most of the game--with relief help from Allison Feaster--and held Sales to 10 points, three below her average. At the other end, Dixon scored 14 points on Sales.

The Sparks (22-3) lead the league in opponents’ shooting percentage and they achieved a mark Tuesday lower than their average of 39.1%. Orlando shot 36.7%.

Spark center Lisa Leslie scored a game-high 17 points, had 11 rebounds, four blocked shots and four assists and stretched her free-throw streak to 49 made in a row. The Sparks as a team made 14 of 15.

“We played great, awesome team defense in the second half,” said DeLisha Milton, who had 14 points and seven rebounds.

“With just a couple of halftime adjustments, we really stopped them. Our post players just came out a little toward the perimeter and that stopped their outside players from getting those uncontested jump shots they were getting in the first half.”

It was the Miracle’s third consecutive defeat, its fifth in six games.

Before the game, Cooper fretted a bit about the matchup. Until its recent slide, Orlando (14-11) led the Eastern Conference for most of the season.

“Orlando is kind of a slow, methodical team and you wind up playing at their pace,” he said.

But in the end, the game was played at the Sparks’ tempo.

Cooper, who has what is generally regarded as the WNBA’s deepest team, played eight players for double-digit minutes, while Orlando Coach Carolyn Peck played six. Cooper got 17 points from his bench, Peck two.

“Teams have to realize when they play us we have 11 players,” Cooper said.

It was a physical game, and Cooper sees that as a trend for the duration.

“The officials have been letting a lot go since the All-Star game,” he said. “I think they understand the fans are coming out to see the players, not them.”

The Sparks had a 37-30 edge at the break, but Orlando got within 45-44 five minutes into the second half.

Baskets by Nicky McCrimmon, Dixon and Leslie opened up a 52-44 lead for the Sparks and it was a runaway the rest of the way.

Adrienne Johnson had nine points in the game’s first four minutes, launching Orlando to a 24-16 lead before the Sparks got focused.

The Sparks finished the half on a 10-0 run, ignited by a Mwadi Mabika three-pointer with 4:22 left.

Dixon contributed two steals for breakaway layups in the last four minutes, and made an 18-foot baseline jumper with 20 seconds left.

*

Cynthia Cooper scored a season-high 28 points as the Houston Comets beat the expansion Seattle Storm for the third time this season, 79-53, in Houston.

Cooper had 18 points by halftime, making three three-points shots for the Comets (22-4). Sonja Henning, formerly of the Comets, led the Storm (4-20) with 10 points.

Houston’s Sheryl Swoopes returned late in the first half after spraining her right index finger in the early going and played a solid second half.

She finished with 19 points for the Comets, who never let their lead get below 11 in the second half.

Tina Thompson was the other Houston player in double figures, with 11 points and a team-high six rebounds.

Seattle was hampered by 16 turnovers. The Storm had only six rebounds in the first half.