Sparks Finish Off Monarchs
There are times the Sparks have felt their season paralleled the Lakers when it came to trauma and drama.
But the women’s year will be different. The Sparks still have three-peat within reach after a spine-tingling 66-63 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs before 6,955 Monday at Staples Center.
By winning a third consecutive Western Conference championship, the Sparks will play host to Eastern Conference champion Detroit on Friday. The teams travel to Detroit for a game Sunday, and another on Tuesday if necessary.
The Sparks and Shock met once this season, and Detroit won in overtime, 87-78, on its court. That one win separated the team’s regular-season records; the Sparks finished the year 24-10 while Detroit was 25-9.
Against the Monarchs, Lisa Leslie had 26 points to lead both teams, and she scored the Sparks’ final four points: two on a two-foot bank shot that broke a 62-62 tie with 9.8 seconds to play, and two free throws with six seconds left for the final margin of victory.
After celebrating with a little victory dance in the locker room, Leslie let the moment sink in.
“Coach [Michael] Cooper alluded to the fact that every championship gets harder,” Leslie said. “On and off the court we’ve had so many challenges. We could have rolled over tonight, but we showed a lot of championship poise. And Sacramento is a great team; but I thought we just wanted it more.
“We look forward to playing Detroit again. We’re not the same team and neither are they. It will be a great series.”
“We knew they would think this would be like the Houston game,” said Nikki Teasley, who was referring to Game 3 of the first-round series in which Sacramento beat the Comets. “But even with them catching us late, we never got rattled. We never get rattled, because we’re champions and we find a way.”
Teasley finished with 13 points and 10 assists. Mabika added 16 points for L.A. The Monarchs, who got 16 points from DeMya Walker and 15 from Tangela Smith, were sent to another off-season courtesy of the Sparks.
This is the third time Los Angeles has eliminated them in the playoffs, and the second time in the Western Conference finals. And despite tying the score with 32 seconds to play (on Kara Lawson’s jump shot) after trailing by as many as 14 points in the second half and playing most of Game 3 without their floor leader, Ticha Penicheiro, who was slowed by bruised ribs and played only 17 minutes, the Monarchs must wonder when their time is going to come.
“The Sparks are a gifted team and coached by a guy I know well,” said Sacramento Coach John Whisenant, who was 15-7 with the Monarchs after taking over the coaching duties in midseason. “Give them all the credit they deserve, but [my team] played a whale of a game. We played them right to the end.”
Penicheiro was accidentally kneed twice in her midsection by Leslie in Games 1 and 2. She spent Monday morning gulping ibuprofen, getting iced down and having a massage around her bruised rib cage. The only protection she could wear was some padding around the ribs.
“I wish I had a bulletproof vest. Or a knee-proof vest,” Penicheiro said.
When asked if she thought the collision with Leslie was intended, Penicheiro shook her head.
“It’s just basketball,” she said. “Unfortunately it happened to me twice, back to back. She tried to take it hard to the basket. I was in her way, I guess.”
After swapping the lead four times in the first eight minutes, the Sparks had the first separation, running off 11 consecutive points for a 22-12 lead.