Sparks’ Run Breaks Fever

The Sparks trailed by six points, Lisa Leslie had five fouls and the Indiana Fever seemed poised to make a run at a surprise victory.

Then the Sparks showed why they are the defending WNBA champions, using a 20-4 run midway through the second half to put the game away.

Mwadi Mabika had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Leslie, playing through foul trouble, added 14 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Sparks to a 73-58 victory over the Fever Wednesday night at Indianapolis in front of 7,029.

Leslie, coming off her All-Star game most-valuable-player performance, was called for three fouls in the first two minutes of the second half, giving her five and sending her to the bench.

“It’s kind of weird because I actually got three offensive fouls,” Leslie said. “I just had to make the adjustment to not play defense. That’s not something I’m used to doing.”

She left with the score tied, 36-36, but consecutive three-point baskets by Rita Williams and Tamika Catchings gave the Fever a 46-40 lead.

Catchings, who led the East in scoring in the All-Star game, led the Fever with 15 points but was only five for 16 from the field.

The Sparks (16-3) scored six consecutive points and eventually took the lead for good at 50-48 on a basket by DeLisha Milton, then pushed the lead to 60-50, capping the run.

Nikki McCray, who added 11 points, made a three-point basket with 4:30 remaining as the Fever (8-12) pulled to within 60-53. It was as close as it would get.

Spark Coach Michael Cooper said switching at halftime from a man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone was the difference.

“That kind of held them down a little bit as far as taking shots over the top,” he said. “I believe man-to-man is the way to go, but it is a good part of our defense we can use.”

Indiana Coach Nell Fortner said her team couldn’t make the necessary adjustments.

“We lost our legs against the zone,” Fortner said.

Utah 75, Houston 67--Margo Dydek overcame a first-half knee injury to score 17 points and grab 14 rebounds for the Starzz (14-6) at Salt Lake City in front of 7,382.

Janeth Arcain had 17 for Houston (16-5).

Portland 73, Phoenix 61--DeMya Walker scored 17 points to help the Fire (12-9) win at Portland in front of 7,291. It was the Mercury’s 16th consecutive road loss, which tied a WNBA record. Gordana Grubin led Phoenix (8-12) with 21 points.

Charlotte 89, Orlando 62--Tammy Sutton-Brown scored a career-high 22 points for the Sting (12-8) at Charlotte, N.C., in front of 7,623. The second half was marred by a fight between Charlotte’s Summer Erb and Orlando’s Jessie Hicks. Hicks was ejected after she threw a punch. Orlando fell to 9-10.

Sacramento 78, Miami 62--Tangela Smith led four Monarchs in double figures, scoring 18 points in a victory at Miami. It was the Monarchs’ first win in 11 road games. The announced attendance was 15,519. Sacramento moved to 4-15 and Miami fell to 9-11.

Cleveland 58, Minnesota 48--Ann Wauters scored 14 points and the Rockers (8-12) used a 10-0 run in each half to win at Minneapolis before 5,087. It was the sixth consecutive loss for the Lynx (6-14).

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