Mercury-Sparks Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jun 09 2011 5:08PM

Despite a terrific effort from Diana Taurasi, the Phoenix Mercury failed to knock off the defending WNBA champions in their season opener.

Taurasi looks to build on that performance as the Mercury visit the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night.

Taurasi, who led the WNBA with 22.6 points per game last season, picked up where she left off in Saturday's 78-71 loss at Seattle, scoring 31 on 11-of-20 shooting.

"We did a pretty good job in certain areas on the court. As a collective group, we didn't finish plays here and there," Taurasi said.

"That's what it takes to beat teams on the road. At this level, it's whether you're mentally strong enough to execute as a group. We showed we can do it. Just have to try and do it for a longer period of time."

Phoenix took four of five but outscored Los Angeles by an average of 3.2 points last season, and Taurasi knows Friday's matchup won't be easy.

"LA's always a tough game ... it's always a game I think both teams look forward to," the California native said. "It's definitely fun to go back home, see my family and friends, it's always good to be back in LA."

The Sparks opened their season with a home-and-home series against Minnesota, winning 82-74 in Los Angeles last Friday thanks in part to 19 points and 10 rebounds from star Candace Parker. They fell 86-69 on the road Sunday while Parker was held to 11 and seven, respectively.

Parker, who averaged 24.0 points and 12.0 rebounds in three games against Phoenix in 2010, will likely need to be more consistent if Los Angeles hopes to contend this season. The Sparks' focus for Friday, however, remains largely on slowing down Taurasi.

"The thing you have to do to contain Diana Taurasi is not let her get the ball first off," forward DeLisha Milton-Jones said. "When she has the ball in her hands, she's a tremendous threat for any team. If she does get the ball, you have to try to make every shot she takes as tough as possible.

"The thing that makes her the most dangerous is the fact that she knows how to share the ball at the right time, so you don't know when she's gonna pass or shoot."

Taurasi, who averaged a career-best 4.7 assists last season, recorded one Saturday as the Mercury's reserves scored four points on 2-of-13 shooting.

"We gotta find a way to get some more production off the bench and some people gotta find themselves on the court and get going a little bit," Taurasi said.

Parker, Thompson lead Sparks past Mercury

Posted Jun 11 2011 1:24AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) Candace Parker scored 22 points, Tina Thompson had 21 and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Phoenix Mercury 98-84 on Friday night.

DeLisha Milton-Jones scored 18 points and reserve guard Kristi Toliver added 17 for the Sparks (2-1). Milton-Jones had 14 points in the first quarter, Parker had 15 in the second half and Toliver made five 3-pointers.

Penny Taylor led Phoenix (0-2) with 18 points. Mercury star and 2009 MVP Diana Taurasi was held scoreless in the second half and finished with nine points on 2-for-9 shooting.

The Sparks went on a 14-7 run to end the first half as Toliver hit three key 3s in the final 3 1/2 minutes. Los Angeles led 54-40 at the break and Phoenix didn't get closer than nine in the second half.

It was a contrast from the teams' recent history as three of their previous five meetings were decided by one point. Phoenix won four of five from Los Angeles last season.

The Sparks were 13 for 23 on 3-pointers, making the second-most in franchise history.

Los Angeles' 54 first-half points was one shy of the franchise record for a half. The Sparks have scored 54 points in a half three other times.

Sparks coach Jennifer Gillom said her team re-focused after a 17-point loss to Minnesota on Sunday.

``We needed that (victory) because I thought we had good practices this week,'' Gillom said. ``We came out with a lot of energy. That was key tonight. Our last game, we didn't show that. We played some great defense. We held Diana Taurasi to nine points. That's hard to do.''

Taurasi went 0 for 5 from the field in the second half and drew a technical foul in the closing minutes.

``We were just trying to keep her frustrated,'' Toliver said. ``We were throwing different looks at her. We've got a lot of big bodies on this team, so were able to switch and keep big people on her at times, really keep her off the glass. That was definitely a major contributor of why the game turned out the way it did.''

Parker, the 2008 MVP and Rookie of the Year, started slow and had seven points on 2-for-7 shooting in the first 20 minutes. She made a baseline jumper to stretch the lead to 60-45 in the third quarter and scored on a drive to the basket to push it to 69-56.

``We were a little sluggish,'' Parker said. ``In the second half, I knew I just needed to relax.''

Parker drew the biggest cheer of the night with a block on Marie Ferdinand-Harris' shot with 7:01 remaining.

If there was any downside to the victory, it was that Parker - who's season ended last year after just 10 games due to a shoulder injury - played more than 37 minutes for the second time in the team's opening three games.

``I think once the games get a little closer, I don't think that's necessarily going to be the plan,'' she said. ``I'll do whatever the coach wants me to do, but I don't see being able to sustain this.''

• Mercury: --
• Sparks: --

• Mercury: Taurasi
• Sparks: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #7 Clarke Stevens, #9 Denise Brooks, #43 Brenda Pantoja
• Attendance: 10616
• Duration: 1:41