Sparks Edge Storm on Leslie Free Throw

The race for the Western Conference and the WNBA’s best record isn’t over. But it’s close.

The Sparks, who lead the West and have the best record, held off their closest pursuer Friday by edging Seattle, 82-81, before 9,721 at Staples Center.

Lisa Leslie, who had 26 points and six rebounds, scored the deciding point on a free throw with 10.5 seconds to play. Then the Sparks held their breath as a final shot by Sue Bird bounced off the side of the rim with 1.4 seconds left. Christi Thomas gathered her seventh and final rebound, and waited for the horn to sound.

The victory improves the Sparks to 21-7 and increases their lead over Seattle (17-10) to 3 1/2 games. The Sparks have six games remaining in the regular season; the Storm has seven games left.

Friday’s contest had a little bit of everything.

There were brilliant individual performances on both sides, besides Leslie, Tamecka Dixon had 20 points and Nikki Teasley added 14. Bird had a season-high 25 points for the Storm, and Betty Lennox scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half.

The game was hotly contested all evening; the Sparks’ biggest lead was eight points, Seattle’s was six.

And there was an eruption of emotions in the final 1:34. Dixon and Lennox got tangled up under the Storm basket and elbows flashed.

When the officials sorted out the situation, both Lennox and Dixon received technical fouls, and Dixon was ejected.

“The ejection was for the technical foul we assessed her,” said lead official Bob Trammell, in explaining Dixon’s removal. “It wasn’t a flagrant foul, but it [the ejection] was on one technical, which is our right.”

WNBA official Dee Kanter, who was in attendance Friday, will file a report with the league office in New York, where it will be determined if any further action is taken. Dixon could face a one-game suspension for the ejection. The Sparks’ next game is Wednesday in Phoenix.

“Hopefully the league won’t see it as Tamecka throwing a punch,” Spark Coach Karleen Thompson said. “I didn’t see her throw a punch. I saw an elbow, and I saw them get in each other’s face.”

Dixon said afterward she did not throw a punch at Lennox. “She threw an elbow, and then got in my face. I was clearing my personal space.”

When asked about the altercation, Lennox replied, “There was a lot of trash talking.”

The incident was the only thing to mar a playoff-level contest that featured 11 ties, including a 40-40 standoff at halftime, and 12 lead changes. The Sparks won despite getting outrebounded, 35-25, because they shot 56.9% from the field (33 of 58). The Storm managed 40.3% (29 of 72).

Earlier in the day the Sparks made another roster addition, signing veteran forward Mfon Udoka. She was waived earlier this season by Houston, but played with the Nigerian Olympic basketball team in the Athens Games, averaging 21.6 points and 10.2 rebounds. She is signed for the remainder of the season.

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” said Udoka, 28, who played briefly with Detroit in 1998 and who joined Houston as a free agent last year. “It’s a great team and a great organization. Any way I can contribute I will, and whatever happens, happens.”

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Down the Stretch

After winning all five of their home playoff games last year, losing all four on the road, earning the home-court advantage throughout the playoffs is a key to the Sparks’ chances of winning their third WNBA title in four years.

Their victory Friday over Seattle, the team with the league’s second-best record, reduced their magic number for clinching that advantage to four. But looming is a season-ending game at Key Arena, where the Sparks have lost three of their last five games to the Storm.

The team’s remaining schedule:

SPARKS

Wednesday--at Phoenix

Today--at Phoenix

Thursday--Detroit

Wednesday--Detroit

Sep. 12--Sacramento

Sept. 14--Phoenix

Sept. 1--Minnesota

Sept. 18--at Seattle

STORM

Sept. 10--at Minnesota

Sept. 12--at Connecticut

Sept. 13--at Indiana

Sept. 15--Phoenix

Sept. 18--Sparks