Sparks’ Win Is No Work of Art, 80-77

The Sparks got their first taste at life (temporarily) without Lisa Leslie on Tuesday and had the feeling of balancing on the slippery railing of a 10-story high-rise.

It took the two-time defending champions two overtimes to defeat the lowly Phoenix Mercury, 80-77, before 7,145 at Staples Center. It took about everything, and every player, the Sparks had to get the victory.

Mwadi Mabika had her biggest game of the season, scoring 26 points before fouling out in the second overtime. Tamecka Dixon added 18. But perhaps the biggest lift for Los Angeles (16-3) came from reserve Rhonda Mapp, who handled much of Leslie’s center chores.

Mapp, who started instead of Jennifer Gillom, had a season-high 12 points and 10 rebounds. Her biggest basket came with 2.9 seconds to play, a layup after a Mabika miss that forced the first overtime and saved the Sparks the embarrassment of blowing an 11-point second-half lead.

“How many times do I get to make a [big shot] like that? Not too often,” said Mapp, smiling. “I just read Mwadi’s shot, and how it was going off the basket. I just focused on where the ball was.”

The Mercury (3-15) wasted a career-high 26 points by rookie Plenette Pierson and 16 points and 15 rebounds by Adrian Williams.

It was the Mercury’s 13th consecutive loss to the Sparks dating to July 17, 1999.

Tuesday was the third double overtime the Sparks have played in franchise history. They have won all three, beating Cleveland, 87-74 in 1997, and Minnesota, 87-77 in 1999.

A sloppy first half featured a combined 24 turnovers and 44 missed shots. The Sparks did build a 22-15 lead with 5:54 remaining but Phoenix, fueled by nine points off the bench by Pierson, closed the half with a 13-5 run to take a 28-27 lead.

Before the game Leslie, who sustained a bone bruise in the right knee after a collision with Detroit’s Swin Cash during Saturday’s All-Star game in New York, was put on the injured reserve list, meaning she will miss a minimum of three games. The earliest Leslie could return would be Tuesday against Washington.

“[General Manager] Penny [Toler] told me she wanted me on IR because she doesn’t want me to try and come back too soon, or for [Coach Michael Cooper] to be tempted to use me too soon,” Leslie said.

She said team physician Steve Lombardo reviewed the MRI taken of the injury and told her he did not think there were any tears in her anterior cruciate and medial cruciate ligaments. But when her knee was drained to reduce the swelling, there was blood in the injured area, which might suggest a possible tear elsewhere.

Nonetheless Leslie, using crutches and wearing a knee brace, appeared upbeat before the game. She said she was undergoing therapy twice a day, and is riding an exercise bike and working with weights to keep the muscles around the knee strong.

“I don’t think I have a tear though, of course, I wouldn’t think so,” Leslie said. “If there was one in the medial ligament, I could still play on it. You don’t really get surgery on that area. But I just don’t think it’s torn.”

Cooper said an extended break could help Leslie in the postseason.

“This is the only time she can get some rest,” he said. “It would have been tough to get her that because she knows we need her on the court.

“But we know she’s not going to be there, so we have to look for other ways.”