Sparks’ Comeback Bid Falls a Bit Short, 75-72

Everything the Sparks got this season, they got the hard way.

So why should the playoffs be any different?

So, yes, the Sparks are up against the wall again after losing to Sacramento, 75-72, Wednesday in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series at Staples Center.

The top-seeded Monarchs raced out to a 23-7 lead in the first half, and the Sparks, who never led, were never able to catch up against a Monarch squad that shot 63% on the night (29 of 46), well above the 43% it averaged during the season.

Still they had their chance

Down 71-61 with 3:44 to play, the Sparks rallied, holding Sacramento without a field goal the rest of the way. A three-pointer by Chamique Holdsclaw drew the Sparks to within 73-70 with 55 seconds left. And when Sacramento turned the ball over for the 19th time, the Sparks were in position to steal the victory.

But after a timeout, Leslie missed a bank shot with 42 seconds left. The Monarchs rebounded. They ran the clock down until Nicole Powell was fouled with 19.2 seconds left. She made both free throws to push the lead back to five.

Nikki Teasley, playing her first game since being sidelined by a foot injury July 19, missed a three-point shot with eight seconds left, and the Monarchs were pretty much out of danger. The best the Sparks could do was one final basket by Teasley, on a steal, with two seconds to play

Powell and Yolanda Griffith each had 18 for Sacramento. Holdsclaw had 24 points to lead all scorers.

Sacramento can wrap up the series on its home court Friday.

“If you can get the first one and you’re the higher seed, now you’re in the driver’s seat,” said Monarch guard Kara Lawson, who scored eight points and played 18 minutes despite a sore left shoulder. “Our focus, obviously, is to get the game on Friday. They’re a dangerous team, very explosive, and we don’t want to give them a chance to play Sunday.”

Leslie said the Sparks couldn’t think about anything other than tying the series.

“You have to get one before you can think about two,” she said. “We believe we can go there and win. That’s our priority right now.”

Defense has been the Monarchs’ calling card all season. Sacramento led the WNBA in fewest points allowed (61.6) and tied with Seattle for the third-lowest opponent’s field-goal percentage (41.2%).

Although the Sparks shot 51.8%, rarely did they have an uncontested shot.

“Our defense is intended to push people out of what they practice every day, and make them run something different,” Sacramento Coach John Whisenant said. “And we feel that most times, if that practice isn’t valuable, we increase our chances of winning.”

That defense figured to be stiffer Wednesday because, as Spark Coach Joe Bryant said before the game, “at this time of year everybody knows your playbook.”

But there were other things besides basketball on the mind of the Sparks’ Doneeka Hodges. She has family in Louisiana whose home was in the path of Hurricane Katrina. Nearly all of her family members were evacuated, but one brother still has not been accounted for.

Hodges declined to talk about her family situation. But Bryant said the second-year guard was doing her best to remain upbeat.

“She’s a trouper,” Bryant said. “[The team] has all said prayers for the family, and hopefully everything works out OK. And when times are difficult, probably this might be the best thing for her, these two, three hours. But she has the support of all of us; we always hug her and say everything’s going to be OK.”

Hodges played five minutes and scored a three-point basket.