Sparks’ Rout Has Look of a Perfect 12
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To at least one Spark, the WNBA club’s 12th consecutive victory was the best of all.
And at times along the way to a 92-72 victory over the Utah Starzz Sunday, the Los Angeles performance did appear to border on perfection.
The Sparks (16-2), unbeaten for nearly a month, shut down Utah’s (9-10) big offensive threats, Natalie Williams and Adrienne Goodson, almost totally in the first half while Michael Cooper’s team was running up a 46-33 halftime lead.
Afterward, forward DeLisha Milton (15 points) pondered what had happened and called it near perfect.
Particularly on defense.
Consider:
* Goodson, the WNBA’s No. 9 scorer at 16.7 points a game, had zero at the half, after a masterful job of ball-hawking by Mwadi Mabika. Goodson finished with 13 points, but after Mabika left with a sprained left thumb.
* Williams, the league’s No. 1 rebounder (11.8) and No. 3 scorer (18.3), had four points and three rebounds at the break, finishing with eight points and eight rebounds.
“This game was like one long run,” Milton said.
“Everyone was just tremendous. Near the end I looked at the scoreboard and thought: ‘My gosh, Goodson only has 10.’ Mwadi was great today. This was the best of the 12 [wins], I think, considering how well we played for 40 minutes. And on top of that, we showed a killer instinct too.”
Showing no mercy before an announced crowd of 6,691, Los Angeles went from a 13-point edge at the half to 62-42 in seven minutes. It was 77-50 when Coach Michael Cooper cleared his bench with nine minutes left.
“We didn’t want Natalie getting open looks down low, and DeLisha and Lisa both helped prevent that,” he said.
“And I thought Tamecka [Dixon] did a great job on [Jennifer] Azzi, keeping her out of the middle.”
Azzi, playing her second game since coming back from breaking her right hand in an exhibition game, played 36 minutes and had eight points, four assists and two steals.
If the L.A. streak goes to 13 (the Sparks host Portland) Tuesday, it could be that the two longest win streaks this season will collide Friday at the Great Western Forum, when Houston arrives for its rematch.
The Comets won again Sunday and have nine consecutive victories since the Sparks beat them at the Forum on June 20, 90-84. Houston plays at Sacramento Wednesday.
The WNBA’s longest streak is 15, set by Houston in 1998. That means the record could come on this home stand. If the streak continues through the July 20 New York game, that would be No. 16.
Leslie, who was eight for 11 from the floor with 22 points Sunday, sounded as if it was another day at the office. “This is just a matter of playing good basketball and not beating ourselves,” she said.
Utah Coach Fred Williams was asked if he thought the Sparks could win at Houston in playoff games. “Yeah, they can win down there--the way they’re playing now, they can beat anyone. Michael [Cooper] has done a good job.”
The Sparks were aided some by the fact Utah’s 7-foot-2 center, Margo Dydek, picked up her fourth foul with nearly five minutes left in the first half and played only 12 minutes. With no fear of getting blocked, it freed up Milton and Leslie inside. Together, they were 14 for 21 from the floor on a day when L.A. registered its highest shooting percentage of the season, 53.3%.
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SPARKS TOP STREAKS
Most consecutive
games won:
15--HOUSTON
June 27-
July 30, 1998
12--SPARKS
June 17-July 9, 2000
9--HOUSTON
Aug. 17, 1998-
June 25, 1999*
9--HOUSTON
June 23-July 9, 2000
8--CLEVELAND
July 17-Aug. 2, 1997
* Over two seasons
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Sparks Streak
The Sparks’ victory Sunday improved their winning streak to 12, second best in the WNBA behind Houston’s 15:
June 17 at Portland: 94-81
June 18 Charlotte: 70-62
June 20 Houston: 90-84
June 23 at Miami: 68-54
June 25 at New York: 72-67
June 26 at Washington: 74-72
June 28 at Indiana: 82-73
July 1 Cleveland: 75-67
July 2 Detroit: 85-63
July 5 at Sacramento: 76-61
July 6 Washington: 79-70
July 9 Utah: 92-72
