At Finish, Sparks Find Their Way
It’s not easy to read Michael Cooper, who often keeps moods and feelings contained. Whether angry or elated, the Spark coach speaks measured words in measured tones.
But before Saturday’s game against the Detroit Shock, Cooper was candid about the Sparks’ start to the 2004 WNBA season.
“The biggest disappointment? It’s unusual for me to say this, but it’s about which team is going to show up,” Cooper said. “Right now it’s a Jekyll-and-Hyde syndrome, and it’s sad to say that. We’ve got to find our identity, which team will come every night. When we do that I’ll feel comfortable.”
He and the Sparks should be breathing more easily after defeating the defending champion Shock, 63-60, in front of 12,841 at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
The Shock (1-2) led most of the way until going cold in the game’s last seven minutes. And the Sparks, who made only 21 of 65 shots (32.3%), ripped off a 28-9 run in that span to swap a 48-35 deficit for a 63-57 lead with 17 seconds to play. Detroit’s Swin Cash who led all scorers with 17, made a three-point basket with five seconds left. Deanna Nolan (16 points), got off one last three-point shot with under a second to play, but it bounced off the side of the rim.
“It’s still the first week of the season and we have a long way to go,” Cooper said afterward. “We’re not putting together a whole game. But ... sometimes one good half is better than a whole game. I’m concerned about our shooting because we’re getting good looks.”
Now the Sparks return to Los Angeles for the home opener Tuesday. And considering that the four-game trip started out with a 26-point loss in Seattle, “2-2 is looking a lot better than 1-3,” Tamecka Dixon said.
The Sparks could also be pleased with how they cobbled together the victory after Lisa Leslie (12 points, 14 rebounds) fouled out with 2:35 left.
Nikki Teasley delivered 15 points with five timely three-pointers. Rookie Christi Thomas had six points and five rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. Dixon, who tied the score, 57-57, on a three-pointer with 1:33 to play, had 11 points as she alternately tracked Cash and Nolan. Mwadi Mabika, scoreless in the first half, scored 12 points in the second half including a 16-footer with 46.6 seconds left that gave the Sparks the lead for good.
“What we found out again is we know how to win games,” said DeLisha Milton-Jones, who scored seven points. “Coming off the losses to Seattle and Connecticut, we had put ourselves in a situation where we had to erase the early goals we set for ourselves in the beginning of the season and just focus on getting a win.”
Early on, that goal looked beyond their grasp. After watching the Shock players receive their championship rings in a pregame ceremony, the Sparks missed 22 of their first 25 shots and made only eight of 35 shots in the first half. But because Detroit was nearly as bad (22 of 61 for the game, 36.1%), the Sparks actually had a couple of leads before the Shock settled into a 32-22 advantage at the half.