The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 31, 2006; 12:59 AM

CHICAGO -- Everywhere Lisa Leslie turned there was a Chicago defender waiting. Facing constant double teams, Leslie knew she would need some help from her teammates.

The Los Angeles Sparks had eight players score _ including five with at least eight points _ in their 64-55 victory over the Sky on Tuesday night. Leslie led the way with 19 points and 16 rebounds.

"(Leslie)'s a champion," Sparks head coach Joe Bryant said. "I'm so proud of her. She didn't have one of her best games tonight offensively but down the stretch she made a couple free throws and made a couple of big shots."

The Sparks (3-1) looked to Leslie for their offense early and she responded by shooting just 2-for-10 in the first half. The Sky (1-3) weren't able to capitalize on her ineffectiveness because of a Los Angeles' smothering defense that held the Chicago to 17 percent shooting in the first half.

"It was great defense," said Leslie describing her team's effort in the opening half. "That's what we pride ourselves on. Your offense can be on or off but your defense is always steady."

The Sparks led 16-8 after closing the first quarter with a 12-2 run. A 9-3 run to end the first half extended Los Angeles' lead to 35-20.

"In the first half, I think we were getting good looks," the Sky's Stacey Lovelace said. "We just have to knock them down."

The Sparks came out flat in the third quarter and the Sky went on a 14-0 run to make it 42-38 with 2:03 remaining in the period. The Sky were 7-for-13 from the field in the third.

Leslie acknowledged the letdown was a problem, but promised it would be fixed.

"That's a problem," she said. "We have to work on our third-quarter intensity. But we'll improve on that."

The Sparks weathered the third-quarter run and never lost the lead. Although they shot just 2-for-12 in the fourth, the Sparks made 14 free throws and outscored Chicago 18-14 in the final period.

Bryant was happy with his teams performance down the stretch.

"The bottom line for us on the road is to make free throws," he said. "Down the stretch we made free throws."

Lovelace had eight points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. Jia Perkins led Chicago with 12 points and Amanda Lassiter added 11.

The Sparks were playing their fourth consecutive game without Chamique Holdsclaw who had left the team to attend to family matters.