Sparks Discover Spring in Their Step

For one night it looked like old times at Staples Center.

On Monday, the Spark fans didn’t have to wait until the final play of regulation (or overtime) to see how their team would fare.

Because on this night, when the Sparks got in control of the game, they didn’t let up and didn’t let the opponent get up.

Combining speed, power, size and will, Los Angeles ran past, ran through and ultimately ran over the Indiana Fever, 82-51 -- their largest winning margin of the season -- in front of a crowd of 9,830.

The victory increased the Sparks’ lead over Seattle in the Western Conference to one game.

The one-two punch of Lisa Leslie, who had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Mwadi Mabika, who added 18 and eight rebounds, might have been enough on this night. But the contributions flowed from everywhere for Los Angeles. The Sparks (15-7) shot 53.1% (34 of 64), and eight of the 10 players who got in the game scored at least one basket.

“Oh my goodness it feels wonderful,” said Karleen Thompson, who will get coaching credit for the victory although she is listed as the Sparks’ co-coach with Ryan Weisenberg. “We wanted to get back on track,” she said in reference to Saturday’s loss to Sacramento that broke the Sparks’ home win streak at seven. “We’re trying to perfect this thing.”

Added Nikki Teasley, who had five points and nine assists: “I’d definitely say this was the best game we’ve played. We finally put two good halves together, defensively and offensively. This is something we’re definitely looking to carry over in the games to come.”

It was not a happy homecoming for Ebony Hoffman, a WNBA rookie from USC, nor for the 115 people for whom her family and she bought tickets. Hoffman played 17 minutes, but finished with more fouls (six) than points (two).

Then again, most of the Fever ran cold Monday. Indiana (12-10) never put up much of a challenge, and, for much of the second half, didn’t even seem to be in the building. With 7:37 left, the Fever had a grand total of 10, count ‘em, 10 field goals, and finished with a total 16 (on 58 shots) for 27.6%. They trailed by as many as 33 points.

“The Sparks were a step ahead of us,” Indiana Coach Brian Winters said.

“They got beat in their last home game on Saturday, but they are a very good team and I knew they would be ready to play. But I don’t think we played at the level we needed to compete in the game,” Winters added.

The Fever, still the Eastern Conference leader despite the loss, had been 6-0 against Western Conference teams before the game. But all of those victories had been on the Fever’s home court. This road swing, which includes Seattle, Phoenix and Sacramento, offers the Fever another test.

In the first half, the visitors had trouble keeping up with the Sparks’ fastbreak and even more difficulty slowing down Mabika, who made six of 11 shots and scored 14 points in the first 20 minutes. The Sparks also remembered to find Leslie in the low post, and she operated freely enough against longtime rival Natalie Williams to total 10 points.

Boosted by an 11-0 spurt, the Sparks looked ready to make the game a runaway, building a 27-8 lead at the 9:53 mark. But while the Fever didn’t shoot well (six for 28, 21.4%), it began creeping back into the game at the free-throw line, making 12 of 14.

By halftime the Sparks’ lead was down to 38-25.

Reminding themselves in the locker room to come out strong, the Sparks had 14-4 burst to start the final half, extending their lead to 52-29.