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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) -- Nothing went right for the Los Angeles
Sparks on the court or at the box office Tuesday night.
|  | | L.A.'s Ukari Figgs, left, lunges in an effort to steal the ball from Tara Williams. |
With Sparks leading scorer and rebounder Lisa Leslie limited to 24 minutes because of foul trouble, the expansion Portland Fire ended L.A.'s franchise-record 12-game winning streak with an 80-77 victory before an announced crowd of 4,416 at the Forum -- the
lowest in the Sparks' four-year history.
"It doesn't mean the end of our season," coach Michael Cooper
said. "Portland had nothing to lose, they got into their rhythm
and we just could not stop them."
Nevertheless, the Sparks still had a chance to take the lead
with 8.5 seconds left, only to have DeLisha Milton miss a layup.
Portland's Vanessa Nygaard made two free throws with 6.5 seconds
remaining and Mwadi Mabika shot a desperation 30-foot air ball as
time expired.
"It's not really about the last shot, it's about our whole team effort" Leslie said. "We just weren't on the same page in many of the situations."
Trailing 61-57 with 11:25 to play, the Fire (6-12) took the lead for good with a 15-2 run while Leslie was on the bench with five fouls.
Portland increased its lead to 75-65, before the Sparks scored
seven unanswered points, making the score, 75-72, with 3:38 to
play. The margin remained the same after Sophia Witherspoon's
18-foot jumper and Los Angeles guard Ukari Figgs made two free
throws with about three minutes left to play.
The Sparks (16-3) pulled within two, 77-75, when Mabika made the
second of two free throws with 1:30 left. Los Angeles appeared to
have a chance to tie when Witherspoon's shot fell short of the rim
as the 30-second clock expired, but Tamecka Dixon was called for
the foul.
Witherspoon made the first of two free throws, putting Portland
up, 78-75 with a minute remaining.
Mabika put in a rebound of a Leslie miss with 42 seconds left,
cutting the deficit to 78-77. Witherspoon missed a lay-up and
Leslie grabbed the rebound and called time out with 19.5 seconds
remaining, setting the stage for Milton's shot.
Witherspoon scored 29 points, two shy of matching a career high,
and Nygaard added 13 points for Portland, which won two games in a
row for the first time in its brief history.
"This win is a big confidence booster," Fire forward Stacey Thomas said. "This win shows us that we can compete and that we're talented. We just have to keep finishing games like this."
Mabika had 22, Milton 15, Dixon 12 and Leslie 10 for the Sparks, whose previous low crowd was 4,639 June 6, also against Portland.
Portland played without starting center Sylvia Crawley, who sprained her right ankle in Sunday's 75-58 victory over Washington. Crawley is second on the Fire in scoring, averaging 13.0 points per game.
Reserve forward Alisa Burras did not make the trip because of a slightly torn meniscus. She is Portland's No. 3 scorer, with an 8.6 per game average.
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ALSO SEE
WNBA Scoreboard
RECAPS
Phoenix 64
Minnesota 54
Portland 80
Los Angeles 77
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