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BOX SCORE
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (Ticker) -- Now the real fun starts for
the Los Angeles Sparks.
|  | | Lisa Leslie (9) of the Sparks soars over the Mercury's Michelle Griffiths (12) in the first half Sunday at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Leslie's stellar game (29 points, eight boards) led L.A. |
The top-seeded Sparks had little trouble completing the first
step toward a possible WNBA championship, rolling to a 101-76
victory Sunday over the Phoenix Mercury and sweeping their
best-of-three first-round series.
Trying to dethrone the three-time defending champion Houston
Comets, Los Angeles won both games by a combined 40 points, set
a WNBA record for points in a playoff game and advanced to the
Western Conference finals for the second straight year.
"I'm very proud and honored to be coaching this team," Sparks
coach Michael Cooper said. "We came out and established
everything we wanted to do."
Most Valuable Player candidate Lisa Leslie scored 29 points -- one shy of a career high -- and grabbed eight rebounds. The 6-5 center made 12-of-17 shots from the field.
"She, in my eyes, is the MVP of the league this year simply for
the fact that she's made the rest of our team so much better,"
Cooper added. "She could easily average 30 points in this
league, but she's sacrificed a lot of her game to put us in the
position where we're at."
The Sparks want another shot at the Comets, who eliminated them
last season. Houston won the opener of its playoff series with
Sacramento and is one game away from setting up a rematch in the
conference finals.
"We consider Houston the team to beat and we're looking forward
to the challenge again," Leslie said. "They're a great team and
they've made their mark in history."
As it did in Game 1, Los Angeles took control early, building
a 27-14 cushion on a layup by Clarisse Machanguana with 11:15
remaining in the first half. Phoenix closed to 42-36 at the
break but the Sparks blew it open in the second half.
The Mercury were unable to stay with the high-powered Sparks,
who turned the game into a track meet in the second half. Los
Angeles hit 23-of-28 foul shots after making just 1-of-5 in the
first half.
Mwadi Mabika's fast-break layup capped a 14-3 spurt that gave
the Sparks an 82-62 cushion with 6:33 to play. The final score
was Los Angeles' largest lead.
Mabika scored 15 points and Tamecka Dixon added 14 for the
Sparks, who shot 56 percent (34-of-61) from the field, including
9-of-16 from 3-point range.
Jennifer Gillom and Lisa Harrison scored 16 points apiece for
the Mercury, who trailed just 56-50 with 15 minutes to go.
"Los Angeles is playing some great basketball," Gillom said. "There was nothing that we could do to stop their momentum."
In the final minutes, the only suspense was if the Sparks would
become the first WNBA team to eclipse the century mark in the
playoffs. Machanguana's layup with 15 seconds remaining broke
the plateau and completed the rout.
But Phoenix coach Cheryl Miller is not ready to hand the title to the Sparks.
"I think we are all kind of jumping over the hedge a little bit
because Houston has won it the last three seasons," she said. "To anoint a new champion before they have done it is a slap in the face and an insult to Houston."
Los Angeles, which won a WNBA-record 28 games in the regular
season, has been nearly unbeatable at home, improving to 16-1 at
the Great Western Forum with Sunday's win.
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ALSO SEE
WNBA Scoreboard
Leslie-led Sparks romp in playoff opener
RECAPS
Cleveland 63
Orlando 54
Los Angeles 101
Phoenix 76
AUDIO/VIDEO
 The Sparks' Lisa Leslie gave the Los Angeles fans something to cheer about.
avi: 924 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Allison Feaster steps in and knocks down the three.
avi: 935 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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