Candace Parker was huge with 24 points and 18
rebounds, and the Los Angeles Sparks posted an 87-76 win facing elimination
against the Phoenix Mercury in this best-of-three Western Conference Finals.
Lisa Leslie, facing not only elimination but the possibility of it being her
final game in the WNBA, scored 20 points, brought down six boards and added
three assists.
Betty Lennox contributed 17 points while DeLisha Milton-Jones and Tina
Thompson each had 11 points for the Sparks, who lost Game 1 by a 103-94 margin
on Wednesday.
Diana Taurasi dropped a game-high 25 points, including five three-pointers for
the Mercury, who never led in the Game 2 setback.
Cappie Pondexter had 19 points and seven rebounds while Tangela Smith posted
14 and five in defeat.
LA led 31-17 after 10 minutes and built its largest lead at 20, 39-19, just
over three minutes into the second quarter on consecutive field goals by
Leslie and Lennox.
Phoenix made it a more respectable 49-34 deficit at halftime but were only
able to get as close as 13, 65-52, after three quarters of play.
Milton-Jones' jumper and a Lennox three-pointer kept the momentum on the
Sparks' side to open the fourth.
Phoenix went a good two-plus minutes between field goals by Pondexter, but the
latter of her scores helped fuel a late 8-0 spurt to get within eight, 75-67,
with four minutes to play.
Lennox, though, answered with a three-ball and scored seven points on an
ensuing 9-3 run that all but locked up the win with two minutes remaining.
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