Sparks stoke the home fire
The purple and yellow confetti poured through Staples Center on Sunday night as “I Love L.A.” blared over the loudspeakers. A crowd of 10,797 cheered the Sparks’ every move, ranging from the defensive discipline that led to an 82-55 victory over the Seattle Storm to players’ tributes to the late Michael Jackson.
DeLisha Milton-Jones and Tina Thompson reveled in the victory, laughing on the bench as the minutes ticked away. There’s definitely no place like home for the Sparks (3-5), whose victory over the WNBA’s top team (Seattle is 6-3) gave them a 3-0 home record, all the wins by at least 20 points.
The problem is, all teams have to play games outside the friendly confines of home venues. And that’s where the Sparks have gone 0-5.
“Championships are won on the road and obviously we haven’t fared well,” Sparks Coach Michael Cooper said. “But it’s nice to have home games and play extremely well. That’s our saving factor right now.”
No wonder co-owner Kathy Goodman gave a bold prediction about the Sparks’ chances Sunday in a blog post that pronounced, I just KNOW we are going to kill them.
The Sparks’ weekend series with the Storm illustrated the home-road contrast. After rallying from a 16-point deficit at Seattle on Friday only to lose 69-67, the Sparks stormed out to 13-2 run to open the second quarter Sunday and secured a double-digit lead, 36-26, at the 2:49 mark.
“We come out with a different attitude at home,” said Sparks guard Noelle Quinn, who scored a season-high 10 points on four-for-seven shooting. “To me, it’s a whole new swagger out there. Being able to play in front of our fans helps. When we’re out on the road, it’s hard because it’s just you. That will come with time.”
The Sparks limited WNBA scoring leader Lauren Jackson, who had 32 points Friday but was held to nine Sunday, ending an eight-game streak in which she’d scored at least 20. Constant switching and double teaming from Thompson and Milton-Jones limited Jackson to three-for-10 shooting.
“The other night in Seattle I don’t think the intensity level was the same as it was tonight with us,” said Milton-Jones, who scored 11 points. “We kept constant contact on her and just tried to keep her off balance and feeling pressure. Usually when you feel a lot of pressure, you feel you have to get rid of it or take ill-advised shots.”
The Storm took a lot of those, resulting in 34.6% shooting from the field, far below its average of 47%, which is fifth in the league.
No Seattle player cracked double digits, and the Storm’s 55 points was its lowest scoring total this season.
Sparks guard Marie Ferdinand-Harris credited a defensive focus she thinks hadn’t developed last week. But the record shows the Sparks have maintained that discipline at home, limiting teams to 53.3 points a game. Opponents are averaging 79.8 points in road games.
“We talked about it in the beginning, but we weren’t doing it,” said Ferdinand-Harris, who led the Sparks with 15 points and shot seven for 12. “The difference is we’re playing defense. That’s the identity we want to have.”
A disciplined defense led to a transition offense that allowed five players to score in double figures, also including Betty Lennox (14 points) and Vanessa Hayden (10).
The Sparks have apparently learned how to cope with the absences of Lisa Leslie (knee sprain) and Candace Parker (maternity leave). The next step entails figuring out how to do the same thing on the road.
“We don’t start the game the same way we start here,” Lennox said. “The energy is not there. The energy on the road somehow comes later.”
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