Sparks Push Their Way to the Front of the Class

NEW YORK —  The Sparks have been waiting for the right moment to wipe the smirks off the faces of Liberty players. They had lost their last two regular-season meetings here, and had to hear taunts from fans that they were softer than New York pizza.

But on Thursday the Sparks not only stood up to the Liberty, the defending champions beat New York at its own physical style of play to win Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, 71-63.

The Sparks can win their second championship with a victory Saturday at Staples Center. A New York victory in Game 2 would force a deciding game on Sunday, also at Staples.

No amount of frenzied pleading from the 17,666 fans at Madison Square Garden or the playing of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” could keep the Sparks from winning their eighth game in a row, and fifth consecutive in the playoffs. Not with Mwadi Mabika leading all scorers with 20 points, and DeLisha Milton and Lisa Leslie adding 17 and 15 points, respectively.

“We have a philosophy that started three years ago that championships are won on the road,” Leslie said. “We feel like we have to make the road our home. And, with the regular-season schedule so tough, it prepared us to be ready here in the playoffs.”

Not even the absence of starting guard Tamecka Dixon from the lineup could keep the Sparks from dominating the Liberty on the boards (37-25) and holding New York to 28 second-half points, including one basket in the final 5:31. They also reduced Tamika Whitmore, the Liberty’s leading scorer in the playoffs, to a spectator. Whitmore made two of nine shots and scored five points.

“Tamika has always been a vital part of their offense,” Milton said. “I had to contest every shot she took.”

Becky Hammon came off the bench to lead the Liberty with 18 points.

“You have to tip your hat to the Liberty for giving us all they had,” Spark Coach Michael Cooper said. “Now we’ve got two in L.A., and I feel better about our chances to complete this thing.”

The Liberty, which has lost three previous WNBA Finals, is 0-2 on the road this postseason.

“Well it makes it more difficult,” Hammon said. “But we’re not flying out to L.A. just to lose. I have as much confidence in our team as I did [before the game].”

But New York Coach Richie Adubato acknowledged the Sparks have created problems.

“They took our inside game away [tonight],” Adubato said. “Without Dixon they went to a big lineup, and we had some problems matching up with their size. We tried to press them ... but we couldn’t. Any time a team rebounds that well and defends our low post game, it’s very tough unless you can force turnovers.”

The day began badly for the Sparks when Dixon was hurt in the morning.

The team bus pulled up to the Garden in a driving rain. The driver asked to pull into a dry area but was rebuffed by security guards who told the driver there were no bomb-sniffing dogs there to inspect the vehicle.

As the team got off in the street, Dixon, the next-to-last player to exit, slipped on the last step of the bus and landed on her back. She also bent back her right leg, injuring the patella tendon.

Although she spent the day getting treatment, Dixon was not in the starting lineup. Latasha Byears took her place, scoring six points with 11 rebounds.

“My back is stiff, but I’m more concerned about my knee,” Dixon said. “I tried to warm up, but my knee is messed up. I didn’t want to play at 60% tonight and not be available on Saturday.”

When asked if Dixon could play Saturday, Cooper said, “It will be a game-time decision. We’ll have to see how much swelling she’ll have after the plane ride home.”

New York jumped out to a 31-22 lead in the first 14 minutes, thanks in part to seven three-point shots in 10 attempts. The Liberty was successfully running the Sparks through a maze of screens until Crystal Robinson (13 points) and Hammon, who each had three three-point baskets, had a clear look. When that didn’t work, Tari Phillips worked free for layups.

But Mwadi, Leslie and Milton did not let the game get away. When the Sparks closed the first half on a 13-4 run to tie the game at 35, they felt they had survived the Liberty’s best shot.

“We have a tendency to come out and play better in our second halves,” Leslie said. “We felt good going in tied.”