Sparks Overcome Taurasi’s 34 Points
Diana Taurasi put on a show in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to get past Lisa Leslie and the Sparks.
Leslie had 30 points, 12 rebounds and six assists to help the Sparks beat the Phoenix Mercury, 95-85, Friday night.
The Sparks, who have the league’s best record (17-5), held off a second-half rally by the Mercury, sparked by a 22-point third quarter by Taurasi, who finished with 34 points.
“Diana is Diana, I wasn’t surprised that Diana was going to put the ball up; she’s just great,” Leslie said. “She really got them back in the game. But we weathered the storm. We didn’t panic, and we just tried to stick with our defense and get some stops and we were able to execute on offense.”
Chamique Holdsclaw added 22 points for the Sparks, who won for the fourth consecutive time.
Taurasi made her first six shots in the third quarter after missing five of six in the first half and gave Phoenix its first lead since the first two minutes of the game with her third three-point shot of the third period. Then she missed six of her last nine shots, and Phoenix never got closer than three in the final quarter. Temeka Johnson scored 13 points, including consecutive three-point plays that broke open the game after the Sparks had taken a 76-72 lead in the fourth quarter.
“Sometimes your opponent just beats you,” Phoenix Coach Paul Westhead said. “I don’t like to say that because you always hope that your team is good enough to play above whatever the opposition is. Lisa Leslie played the whole game like an All-Star and then for those big fourth-quarter moments Temeka Johnson took over the game.”
Cappie Pondexter and Kamila Vodichkova each had 12 points for Phoenix (8-11). Taurasi, who scored a franchise-record 36 against New York in her last game before the All-Star break, added seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“She’s just great,” Leslie said of Taurasi. “Diana could just come in, she could miss five shots, she could shoot airballs and then knock down eight three-pointers from half court. It’s amazing to watch her play.”
Said Sparks Coach Joe Bryant: “We did the analogy, when Taurasi got hot and started hitting those shots, I said it was like getting a left hook from Joe Frazier, but we’re still standing.”