Sparks Find Rest of Story
Round One is done.
And the Sparks are both happy and relieved.
In dispatching the Seattle Storm, 69-59, before 8,187 at Staples Center on Saturday, Los Angeles wrapped up its WNBA Western Conference first-round series, two games to none.
That will get the Sparks a couple extra days of rest as they await the winner of the Houston-Utah series that resumes today in Houston. The Starzz lead the series, 1-0.
Mwadi Mabika, for one, could use a break after spraining her left ankle, which caused her to leave the game briefly in the second half.
Seattle made the Sparks earn the victory, coming back from a 15-point second-half deficit to close within two in the final two minutes. But the Sparks, who got 23 points from Lisa Leslie and 15 from Tamecka Dixon, held off the Storm to win their eighth consecutive first-round playoff game.
“This was a very good game for us,” Spark Coach Michael Cooper said. “You have to give Seattle a lot of credit for not quitting. But you still must respect the world champions.
“For teams to disrespect us, I say shame on you.”
Seattle, which reached the playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s three years, got 17 points each from Sue Bird and Kamila Vodichkova. But its leading scorer, Lauren Jackson, was held to four points in 34 minutes, and the problems that plagued the Storm in Thursday’s loss were present again--too many missed shots (20 of 58, 34.5%), too many turnovers (17) and too much talent on the Spark roster.
“There is no doubt that this is the best team in the world,” Seattle Coach Lin Dunn said of the Sparks. “They have so many weapons. They are big, strong and experienced. I just don’t see any team beating them.
“I hope our team has earned a lot of respect from the Sparks. We played them tough. They are our role models. They are the big sister and we are the little sister. We want to be just like them.”
Now the Sparks hope that, after an erratic regular season in which they still managed to compile the league’s best record, they are peaking at the right time. Saturday’s was their fifth consecutive victory. During the regular season, they ran off nine in a row in June.
“What we can take from this series is we’re a good team,” said DeLisha Milton, who had a game-high 10 rebounds. “And when we execute our game plan, offensively and defensively, we’re a better team. This was a confidence boost for us that I think we needed, knowing the struggles we had during the regular season.”
“We’re clicking real well,” added Latasha Byears. “We know what’s at stake, and right now we can’t afford to slip up.”
The Storm appeared determined to force a third game on Monday, gaining an early 12-6 lead as the Sparks made only one of their first nine shots. But Los Angeles, which shot 41.7%, (25 for 60), found a rhythm, and by halftime had pulled ahead, 33-25.
When the Sparks went on a 13-2 run early in the second half to go ahead, 46-31, with 12:43 to play, it seemed all they had to do was control the clock. Seattle had one last charge, however, outscoring the Sparks, 25-12, to narrow the deficit to 58-56 with 2:32 to play.
A driving, twisting layup by Dixon ended the Storm rally. Fouled on the play, she made the free throw to push the lead to 61-56, and Seattle got no closer.
The next series begins Thursday, and Dixon said it doesn’t matter who the opponent is, Utah or Houston.
“Both are very talented teams,” Dixon said. “We’ll be watching [today’s] game with great interest. It’s going to be a great series to the end. And no matter who wins, we have to maintain our focus.”
Storm players said the series was a learning experience and a reason to celebrate.
“Going into next year, we can feel good we made a run at it and we can now be considered a playoff team,” Seattle guard Michelle Marciniak said. “A chapter with L.A. has been closed for this year, but we appreciated playing them because they are the best team. And we gave them a run for their money, whether they liked it or not.”
Said Bird: “If we get to the playoffs next year, we’ll have a little more experience.”