Sparks Tonight
VS. MINNESOTA, 7:30
FOX SPORTS NET 2
Site--Staples Center.
Radio--KWKU (1220).
Records--Sparks 21-3, Lynx 7-16.
Record vs. Lynx--2-0.
Update--The Sparks can set a franchise record tonight. A victory over Minnesota would be their 13th in a row. With the return of Lisa Leslie, who missed one game with a hyperextended right knee but had 31 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s victory over Portland, Coach Michael Cooper and staff can again turn their attention to the team’s guards. Tamecka Dixon, who had some up-and-down shooting games, was rested against Portland. Ukari Figgs, who handles the point and who shoots sparingly, had a season-high 17 points Saturday and has scored in double figures in seven of her last eight games. Should Figgs, who averages eight points, remain hot, it would make the Sparks formidable in the playoffs because all the starters would be offensive threats. Minnesota’s Katie Smith, who recently became the 14th WNBA player to score 1,500 points--and the second fastest to do so, needing only 84 games--remains the league’s top scorer, averaging 23.7 points. But Smith alone can’t keep Minnesota, which has lost four in a row, from settling into the Western Conference cellar.
* Tickets--(877) 962-8499.