Milton, Sparks Look Sharp
Some players might whine after being asked to move out of the starting lineup and give their team a lift off the bench.
DeLisha Milton looks rejuvenated.
The U.S. Olympian again came off the bench to lead the Sparks, this time with a season-high 19 points Sunday in an 86-60 WNBA victory over the Miami Sol before 8,312 at Staples Center.
That followed last Tuesday’s performance when she didn’t start but provided 14 points in a victory over Detroit.
Sunday’s margin of victory was the largest of the season for the Sparks, who moved back into a tie with Houston for the Western Conference lead, only percentage points behind the Comets.
Tamecka Dixon added 18 points and six rebounds for the Sparks, and Latasha Byears had 14 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double.
“I thought we looked pretty good tonight,” Spark Coach Michael Cooper said. “We got back to some old things we did last year, like playing good, hard-nosed defense with support.”
Cooper’s smile got wider when reminded his team forced both a shot-clock violation and a five-second out-of-bounds violation.
“That’s what we got away from a little, in part because we’re trying to incorporate new people on the offense,” Cooper said. “But [the losses to] New York and Cleveland really opened our eyes that we have to get back to the team we were last year. I hope this is the tip of the iceberg.”
Miami (5-8), led by guard Sandy Brondello’s 13 points, continued its slide after a 4-0 start, losing its fifth in a row and eighth in nine games.
“We played decently in the first half, but I thought in the second half we had a total breakdown,” said Sol Coach Ron Rothstein, after his team was outscored, 45-26, in the final 20 minutes.
“Going into tonight’s game, things were fine. Now, I don’t know. [We hope] we’ll bounce back tomorrow night and play better.”
On a night when leading scorer Lisa Leslie looked average (11 points, eight rebounds) because of foul trouble and starting forward Mwadi Mabika missed her second consecutive game because of tendinitis in the left knee, Milton brought energy and joie de vivre to the Sparks’ attack.
She did her share of rebounding, grabbing eight boards. She forced a couple of Sol turnovers during the Sparks’ 20-8 run in the second half that turned a 57-47 score into a 77-55 laugher in the span of 10 minutes.
Cooper, who replaced Milton in the starting lineup with Vedrana Grgin-Fonseca (who had five points), may eventually switch the two players again. But there’s no doubt that Milton has given the Sparks some adrenaline the past two games.
“The way things have worked out, this is the way we’re trying to use her,” Cooper said.
“As long as it’s flowing for her and the team, we’ll go with it.”
Milton, who has been averaging 9.1 points a game, is not going to make waves over her change in status.
“Coming off the bench gives me an opportunity to slow down and let the game come to me,” Milton said. “You can see the mistakes others make, and I can go into the game and try to correct them.”
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Vicky Bullett matched her career high with 24 points to lead the Washington Mystics (4-9) to a 76-64 victory over the Orlando Miracle (4-9) before 13,524 at Washington. . . . Merlakia Jones scored eight of her 13 points over the final 3:23 to lead the Cleveland Rockers (11-4) over the Minnesota Lynx (5-7), 52-47, before 7,045 at Cleveland. . . .Rita Williams scored six of her 21 points in overtime to fuel the Indiana Fever (5-8) over the Phoenix Mercury (4-9), 86-78, before 7,459 at Indianapolis.