Sparks Pushed Around by Liberty in 72-59 Loss
Tamika Whitmore and Tari Phillips came up big against the defending champion Sparks.
Whitmore scored 25 points and Phillips had 12 points and nine rebounds as the New York Liberty defeated the bigger Sparks, 72-59, in a physical game Thursday night in front of 15,619 at New York.
“They probably have the best post players in the league, but I can score against bigger players,” the 6-foot-2 Whitmore said. “My mom is 6-7--I’ve had a lot of practice.”
Becky Hammon had 10 points for the Liberty, which outrebounded Los Angeles, 20-10, in the second half and 35-26 overall. Lisa Leslie led the Sparks with 16 points and Mwadi Mabika had 15.
“New York did what it does best--they flexed their muscles and took this one from us,” Spark Coach Michael Cooper said.
Most of the physical confrontations involved Spark forward DeLisha Milton, who tussled with Teresa Weatherspoon early in the second half, with both players receiving technical fouls. Milton then threw an elbow on a rebound, earning her a fourth personal foul, and got tangled with Phillips as they both earned fouls.
Leslie got in trouble down the stretch too, receiving two quick fouls, one on an offensive rebound and another on the defensive end. She played the last 8:08 with five fouls.
“We planned to take it inside because Tari and Tamika just have it right now,” New York Coach Richie Adubato said. “Leslie has been in foul trouble lately, but we are going to take it inside regardless of who’s in there. That’s our game.”
Weatherspoon made two baskets to break a 35-35 tie, and Crystal Robinson sank a three-point basket to give the Liberty a 42-35 lead.
Mabika scored four quick points as the Sparks ran the fastbreak well to cut it to 46-41, but the Liberty pulled away again.
“We just got outhustled for about the last five minutes of the game and that was pretty much it,” Leslie said. “They picked it up in the second half, and that was the key.”
Whitmore was fouled while making a layup but missed the free throw. Vickie Johnson, though, grabbed the rebound and made an open layup for a 50-43 lead. Whitmore then went inside on three consecutive possessions, making one free throw and scoring on two acrobatic layups.
The Sparks stayed in the game on three-pointers from Milton and Sophia Witherspoon, but the Liberty got a jumper from Johnson, a three-pointer from Becky Hammon and a putback from Phillips to start a 12-2 run that put the game away.
“I want them to think about me,” Phillips said. “ ... They have to bring their best game against me.”
Washington 63, Detroit 59--Vicky Bullett scored 22 points, including a go-ahead three-pointer in the last minute, as the Mystics (15-6) won in front of 19,766 at Washington.
After Swin Cash’s layup gave Detroit (3-17) a 59-57 lead, Bullett made a 23-foot jumper with 20.7 seconds left to put Washington up, 60-59. Bullett was 10 of 11 from the field and had eight rebounds.
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MSG Overdose
When the Sparks play at Madison Square Garden, two things are apparent: the Liberty usually wins, and a lot of people show up to see the New York-Los Angeles rivalry.
*--* Date Winner Att July 19, 1997 Liberty, 69-57 16,236 Aug. 5, 1997 Sparks, 67-50 16,144 Aug. 8, 1998 Liberty, 80-62 18,014 June 18, 1999 Liberty, 84-72 13,587 June 25, 2000 Sparks, 72-67 14,717 June 24, 2001 Liberty, 82-69 17,084 July 18, 2002 Liberty, 72-59 15,619
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