Sparks Survive Dry Spell to Beat Mystics

The Washington Mystics may be the leaders of the Eastern Conference, but they play Western Conference-style basketball, because they do run, run, run, at every opportunity.

But if the opponent plays your style better than you do, you better have a Plan B.

So when the Sparks were threatening to run the Mystics back to the Beltway, Washington slowed the tempo--and nearly pulled off an upset.

Only late free throws by Lisa Leslie and Tamecka Dixon, along with a missed three-point attempt by Mystic guard Coco Miller in the last five seconds, enabled the Sparks to hold off Washington, 73-69, Thursday at Staples Center.

Before 10,185 fans, the Sparks (11-1) survived a seven-minute scoreless stretch late in the second half to extend their winning streak to eight games and their home winning streak to 28 games.

Mwadi Mabika had 20 points for the Sparks, including a three-pointer with 1:09 to play. It was the Sparks’ first basket since a layup by DeLisha Milton at the 8:09 mark--a stretch in which the Mystics took away the Sparks’ running game and forced them to take perimeter shots. During that time, Washington (10-3) had a 10-0 run to take a 69-66 lead.

But those 68th and 69th points, courtesy of an eight-foot hook shot by forward Chamique Holdsclaw, were the last ones Washington would score.

After Mabika tied the score, Leslie made two free throws. After a timeout, Miller was free in the corner for the three-point attempt, but the ball glanced off the rim.

Dixon rebounded the errant shot, was fouled with less than a second to play and made two free throws.

Washington, led by Holdsclaw with 20, may have lost the game but it gained a healthy dose of respect.

“They have good composure and play good team ball,” said Leslie, who had 13 points and 14 rebounds. “But I thought we did a good job tonight keeping our composure.”

Said Dixon, who scored 16: “They are legitimate. [Washington Coach] Marianne Stanley knows how to get the most out of a player, and she seems to be doing that.”

From the opening tap, the game was played at warp speed. But the Mystics were slowed by poor shooting (14 of 38, 36.8%), especially from the three-point line, where they made one of six attempts.

The Sparks led by as many as 17 before settling for a 40-30 halftime lead. If they had shot better than 41% (15 of 37), they might have put the game away in the first half.

“We needed to be more patient,” Stanley said. “A couple of times we took quick shots with no one in rebounding position, and the Sparks were determined not to let us have good transition from the offense to defense.”

Minutes into the second half, Washington had an 11-0 run to close the gap to 50-49.

“I think we learned something about ourselves tonight,” Stanley said.

Mystic center Vicky Bullett was blunt.

“We found out we could play with them,” Bullett said. “And I hope we see them again.”

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In other WNBA games, Penny Taylor emerged from a shooting slump to score 24 points and lead the Cleveland Rockers to 73-50 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs before 8,521 fans at Cleveland.... Michelle Marciniak made a running seven-foot shot with less than one second left to give the Seattle Storm a 73-71 victory over the Orlando Miracle before 4,718 fans at Seattle.