Sparks 85, Starzz 77

AP

  
 
   

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Lisa Leslie had 19 points and the Los Angeles Sparks scored the game's final 10 points to beat Utah 85-77 on Friday night for a share of the Western Conference lead.

Los Angeles, which matched Houston at a WNBA-best 23-7, held Utah (19-11) without a field goal over the final 6:16.

Mwadi Mabika had 18 points and nine rebounds to help the Sparks rebound from a 67-64 home loss to Houston on Thursday night.

The Sparks were 32-of-63 (50.8 percent) from the field after shooting a franchise-worst 25.7 percent against Houston in the game that decided the playoff tiebreaker. Both Los Angeles and Houston have two games remaining in the regular season.

Marlies Askamp added a season-high 12 points for Los Angeles. Marie Ferdinand scored 19 points for Utah and Adrienne Goodson added 15 points and nine rebounds.

After Ferdinand made a foul shot with 3:20 remaining, Mabika hit a jumper and Leslie followed a miss by Tamecka Dixon to give the Sparks an 80-75 lead.

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