Storm Blows by Sparks

Maybe it was supposed to be easy. Or perhaps the Sparks thought it would be easy.

Seattle was playing the second of back-to-back games. The Storm, already missing veteran forward Wendy Palmer with a slightly torn left Achilles’ tendon, was also without leading scorer Lauren Jackson, who remained in Seattle to have a sore left leg examined.

But instead of just showing up Wednesday, the Storm ran off with a 75-67 victory at Staples Center. And the game wasn’t as close as the final score. The Storm twice led by as much as 17 points, the last time with 6:11 left in the fourth quarter.

The loss was the first at home for Los Angeles (11-4) this season, and it ended the Sparks’ eight-game winning streak. Of greater concern to Joe Bryant and staff is the fact that Seattle (9-8) has now won four in a row against the Sparks.

But there wasn’t much the Sparks could do about stopping Seattle guard Betty Lennox, who led all scorers with 27 points.

“I just felt I played my regular game,” said Lennox, who made 11 of 21 shots and also grabbed eight rebounds. “I didn’t feel I needed to do a whole lot more. I felt when the shots presented themselves, I needed to knock them down.”

On the flip side was Lisa Leslie, who had five fouls, three of them offensive, before the first minute of the third quarter. She played only 18 minutes total, and had 15 points.

“I can’t be in foul trouble and expect our team to win too many games without me,” Leslie said. “I know we’re capable of doing it. But tonight my team really needed me and I wasn’t able to stay on the court.”

Tamara Moore, who led the Sparks with 16 points, said the team knew its winning streak might end, but not like this -- shooting only 42.6% overall (26 of 61) and committing 17 turnovers.

“With us we know there will be teams we play different against, different than the kind of game we’ve played the last couple of weeks,” she said. “We have to take tonight for what it is.... We’re not going to do anything different but we have to be ready for Phoenix” on Friday.

Jackson, who has been playing with a stress fracture in her left leg, stayed home Wednesday to receive treatment and undergo another MRI exam.

“She was sore going into the [Sacramento] game,” Coach Anne Donovan said. “ ... We’ll know more after the tests.”