Sparks 67
Liberty 60
The Liberty were supposed to have today off.
Change of plans.
After breaking down like a used Fiat yesterday in a 67-60 Garden loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, Liberty coach Richie Adubato said his team will practice today. They will study film. They will work on execution. They will relive the agony of blowing a six-point lead in the final 7½ minutes.
“We need about five hours of work,” Adubato said.
He might need more than that to correct the many flaws his team displayed. The Liberty were unable to stop L.A. center Lisa Leslie down the stretch. She scored seven of her game-high 25 points as L.A. outscored the Liberty 18-5.
The Liberty failed to execute on offense, scoring five points in the final 3:45 and none in the last 1:40.
“We just broke down,” Liberty guard Vicky Johnson said.
While the Liberty (3-3) were pulled off on the shoulder, the Sparks (9-0) continued their unimpeded ride through the WNBA. They have not lost since last August, a string of 18 straight wins.
After sweeping the Liberty in last year’s WNBA Finals, the Sparks picked up where they left off. They might even have a sixth gear waiting to burn rubber.
“I don’t even think they’re playing good basketball,” Johnson said. “[DeLisha] Milton is the heart and soul of that team and she’s not playing at the level she usually does. If Milton gets going, and Mwadi [Mabika] starts hitting her shot, it’s gonna be scary.”
Not as frightening to look at as the Liberty’s late-game collapse. Remember, this is not a young team. In fact, this is probably the last season a veteran team led by Teresa Weatherspoon (0-for-6), Tamika Whitmore (0-for-2) and Tari Phillips (2-for-11) will make a run at a title.
This gritty group, which has pulled out many a win in the final minutes, especially at home, missed its last three shots and committed a turnover after Leslie scored on a layup to give L.A. a 61-60 lead.
“We had it in our grasp,” Adubato said. “It’s not our way to let it get away.”
Get away it did, to the best team in the WNBA, which is led by the best player. Leslie scored her 25 on 12-of-22 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, three blocked shots, three assists and one steal. Her silky turnaround baseline jumper with 17.9 seconds left and the shot clock winding down gave L.A. a 65-60 lead.
L.A. simply was too fast, too furious, too good.
“This is our championship quest,” Sparks coach Michael Cooper said. “The statement that we’re sending to everyone is anything that needs to be said or done is coming through L.A.”