Sparks Pick It Up and Roll

CHARLOTTE, N.C. â€”  The Lakers already have the NBA championship. And the Sparks are on the verge of the WNBA title after overcoming the Charlotte Sting, 75-66, to take a 1-0 lead in the WNBA finals Thursday before 16,132 at the Charlotte Coliseum.

The Sparks, trailing 50-39 in the second half and looking sluggish playing Charlotte’s slowdown style, locked up the Sting offense and kept it scoreless for seven minutes. After Dawn Staley made a three-point basket at 8:09 to put Charlotte ahead, 61-57, the Sting did not score again until Andrea Stinson’s layup with 1:09 to play.

By that time the Sparks, led by Lisa Leslie’s 24 points and 19 by DeLisha Milton, had scored 12 in a row to take over a game that Charlotte had spent 32 minutes keeping under control.

And by making their free throws down the stretch, the Sparks made sure the Sting did not recover.

“I think we finally adjusted on their pick-and-roll plays,� Leslie said.

“Our defense got a lot more aggressive, which we needed to be. And they were so focused on boxing us out for rebounds, when they did shoot it was one and done--if they were able to get a shot off.�

“We do defensive drills in practice all the time basically to prepare for situations like this,� added Latasha Byears. “So we didn’t panic when we got down. We just held our composure.�

Now the Sparks come back to Staples Center with two games to win their first league championship. Game 2 is Saturday. A third game, if necessary, will be Sunday.

“We were very fortunate and blessed and lucky to get this game,� Spark Coach Michael Cooper said. “They are a very gritty team, a tough team. Coach [Anne] Donovan’s got them really, really executing their offense. They make you play 30 seconds of defense and that’s tough to do because after 15 to 20 seconds, you want to get out of your defensive stance.�

The Sting--which got 18 points from Stinson and 11 from Allison Feaster--may have the Sparks where it wants them. Charlotte has been as good a road team in the playoffs as the Sparks have been at home all season. In the Eastern Conference finals, the Sting lost the first game to New York, then swept two from the Liberty in Madison Square Garden.

But Donovan knows that kind of comeback won’t happen if the Sparks can throw another blanket on the Sting’s offense.

“I thought overall we had a decent game until we went into that seven-minute drought,� Donovan said. “You cannot do that against L.A. and hope to survive.

“L.A. is a good defensive team. There’s no doubt. You have to stay focused on being aggressive and not settle for the perimeter shot. But I think we stopped being aggressive.�

The night wasn’t all good for the Sparks.

With 3:35 left to play, Tamecka Dixon (12 points), trying to score on a fastbreak, came down from a layup try with all her weight on the inflamed right heel that has hobbled her the past few weeks. Dixon immediately crumpled to the ground in pain and had to be carried off the floor. She did not return to the game. X-rays taken after the game were negative. Dixon insisted she would be available on Saturday.

“I’ve been dealing with plantar fasciitis all year,� said Dixon, who had a large bag of ice wrapped around her heel. “As soon as I landed on it, I knew what it was. There’s nothing wrong with my bone; it’s a tissue problem.

“I’m not going to miss [Saturday] for the world, even if I play 10 seconds. I just want to walk out there.�

Other Sparks weren’t sure.

“The heel was already hurt bad,� Leslie said. “So for her to go down like that She has a day and I don’t know what [the trainers] will do to help her recover. I hope she will be able to go.�

“It doesn’t look good right now,� Cooper added.

Charlotte, however, is in worse shape, having to go Staples, where the Sparks have lost only once this season.

But considering everything the Sting went through--beginning with its 1-10 start on the regular season and having to win playoff series on the road in Cleveland and New York--the team certainly isn’t counting itself out.

“I think it’s going to be tough in L.A.,� said Stinson, who had 13 points in the first half but was contained after that. “They’re going to come at us.

“They want to get the series over with, I’m sure. We’re going to go in there and we’re going to play hard. I think we can pull one out of L.A. and take it to a third game.�

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

WNBA FINALS

Sparks vs. Charlotte

Game 1--Sparks 75, Charlotte 66

Game 2--Saturday, 12:30 p.m., Ch. 4

Game 3--Sunday, 12:30 p.m., Ch. 4*

*if necessary; Games 2 and 3 in L.A.