Seattle’s Jackson has edge on Sparks
As adept as the Sparks have sometimes shown themselves to be at mountain-climbing, Lauren Jackson made Storm-chasing just too tall an order.
The 6-foot-5 forward scored 35 points, including 15 in the third quarter, and effectively kept the Sparks from ever finding their footing in an 83-71 loss Sunday night at Staples Center.
Jackson, the No. 1 pick in the 2001 WNBA draft and a five-time All-Star from Australia, made 14 of 22 shots and all five of her free throws to tie her career-high scoring total. She also had 10 rebounds.
“I’ve never gone against her when she’s had that many points,” Sparks center Taj McWilliams-Franklin said. “I’m going to watch tape of her, and watch tape of her, and hopefully, next time, it won’t be the Lauren Jackson show.”
With Jackson at center stage, the game turned into a showcase of Seattle’s strength inside, where the Storm outrebounded the Sparks, 43-25.
The Sparks (6-6) stayed with the Storm (6-6) through the first few minutes, but after rallying from a 21-point deficit to beat Sacramento on Friday, they couldn’t bounce back again after falling behind by 10 points at 22-12 at the end of the first quarter.
“A lineup change is on the way,” said a disappointed Sparks Coach Michael Cooper. “We can’t keep doing this, and expect a heroic effort every night. I thought after the last game, we had some momentum, but then we just come out flat and fall behind again. Why can’t it be us who goes up by 10 points?”
The Sparks, who have lost four of their last five games, have faced deficits of 14 or more points in each, and mounted successful or nearly successful comebacks in three of them.
The largest deficit against the Storm was 16 points, at 59-43 after a layup by Jackson with 4:55 to play in the third quarter. The Sparks closed the gap to 69-62 with slightly more than seven minutes to go but got no closer despite the best efforts of reserve guards Sidney Spencer and Sherill Baker, who each scored 15 points off the bench.
Baker also had eight assists and five steals.
“I’m just thinking about our whole team getting better right now,” Baker said. “I just think we have to come out more aggressively and not fall behind so much.”
That would McWilliams-Franklin’s suggestion too.
“We’re always fighting and climbing,” said McWilliams-Franklin, who finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. “It’s tough to be having to dig yourself out all the time. Who’s going to be able to do that every night?”
Not the Sparks, apparently.