Sparks Keep Rolling With Another Win

Before the Sparks even walked onto the court Saturday they had repeated as regular-season Western Conference champions, courtesy of Houston’s loss at Charlotte.

Then the Sparks made sure no one accused them of backing into the title by routing Seattle, 79-60, before 9,493 at Staples Center.

The win was the 15th in a row for the Sparks, which ties the league record for consecutive victories set by Houston in 1998.

The Sparks (24-3) will try to break the record Monday against Indiana.

Saturday’s victory was not an artistic triumph; the game had little flow thanks to 41 fouls called by the officials and several more that were not. The level of contact ranged from an accidental elbow by Mwadi Mabika to the head of Seattle forward Kamila Vodichkova, requiring the latter to receive six stitches, to a near scrum between Storm guard Michelle Marciniak and the Sparks’ Lisa Leslie as they battled for a loose ball.

But winning is the only thing on the Spark agenda these days. They will outrun you, as they did Saturday, expanding their 38-31 halftime lead to as many as 24 points (79-55) in the second half. And they will defend you, as they held the Storm to a 30.6% field-goal percentage in the second half (33.8% for the game).

They will also bruise you--for every forearm shove the Storm threw out of frustration, the Sparks answered with a hip and a glare.

Storm Coach Lin Dunn felt the Sparks got away with too much, even though they were called for more fouls than Seattle (22-19).

“I thought it was an awful physical game,” Dunn said. “I was concerned that one of our players can get six stitches and there wasn’t a call. I’m very concerned about that.”

Dunn went on to equate the Sparks to the Detroit Pistons during their “Bad Boys” heyday in the late 1980s.

Spark Coach Michael Cooper was amused.

“It was physical, but folks have to realize the playoffs are getting close and the officials are changing,” he said. “It’s the tough teams that will have the advantage. We’ve got to be strong with the ball.”

That explains why the Sparks’ reaction to winning the West again was low-key.

“We’re trying to see the big picture,” said Rhonda Mapp, “and that’s the WNBA title. The streak is nice, but it’s more like, the more we play the more we can play better. We know every team wants to beat us, and we will not take any team lightly.”

Perhaps the best news for the Sparks was the return of guard Tamecka Dixon. Dixon, who missed three games because of inflammation of her right heel, played 26 minutes and scored 14 points.

“I was very impressed with her play. It was like she hadn’t sat out any games,” Cooper said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Story of the Streak

Highlights of the Sparks’ 15-game win streak, which has tied the WNBA record set by the Houston Comets in 1998:

* Twelve of the 15 victories have been over Western Conference opponents, including a three-game sweep of the season series with Sacramento.

* Although nine of the victories have come at Staples Center, the streak does include one stretch of four consecutive road games, including back-to-back nights at Utah and Phoenix.

* The average margin of victory has been 11.7 points, but only 5.4 over the five games before Saturday’s 79-60 victory over Seattle.

* The closest game was an 80-78 decision over Sacramento on July 25.