Holdsclaw Leads Sparks Over Storm
Sparks 76, Storm 65
LA Spark's Chamique Holdsclaw goes to the basket during the second half against the Seattle Storm.
(Phil McCarten - AP)
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Saturday, June 25, 2005; 2:30 AM
LOS ANGELES -- Chamique Holdsclaw tied a season-high with 27 points and added 10 rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Sparks to a 76-65 victory over the Seattle Storm on Friday night.
Tamika Whitmore had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Lisa Leslie contributed 14 points and seven rebounds as the Sparks won for the fourth time in their last five games.
"We just played with a lot more energy," Holdsclaw said. "Sometimes, you see us just get the ball out slowly and work it up the court. Tonight, we were just pushing the basketball and just trying to have fun."
The victory, combined with Sacramento's 61-50 loss to Connecticut, enabled Los Angeles (7-5) to move within 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Monarchs in the Western Conference.
Lauren Jackson led the Storm with 21 points. Janell Burse added 12 points and Sue Bird passed for a season-high 10 assists in her second game since recovering from a broken nose and cheekbone.
"We just didn't play with intensity," Seattle coach Anne Donovan said. "We got caught up in stretches where we were settling for an outside shot, and we got no second-shot opportunities."
Seattle (7-5) built a 13-6 lead, but Holdsclaw scored seven points during a 14-6 surge that gave Los Angeles a 20-19 advantage with 9:04 left in the first half.
Iziane Castro Marques' 3-point basket put the Storm ahead 23-22 with 8:06 before halftime. But Nikki Teasley made two consecutive 3-pointers during a 13-2 run that gave the Sparks a 35-25 lead with 4:27 remaining in the half.
Los Angeles led by as many as 18 points late in the game.
