Diana Taurasi breaks record, but Sparks win

With 0:45.3 seconds remaining in the first half of the Sparks’ game against the Phoenix Mercury, the Staples Center clock stopped and the crowd rose to its feet. That moment belonged to Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi, who became the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer with an uncontested layup.

Once the action resumed Sunday, the rest of the game belonged to the Sparks, who won their fourth in a row, 90-69.

“Diana is tremendous,” Sparks coach Brian Agler said. “She could be arguably the best ever in the league, and she’s a champion.”

The Sparks (8-3) have won six of their last seven and are undefeated at home this season, just 11/2 games out of first place in the league behind the Minnesota Lynx, the team they defeated for the 2016 WNBA championship.

As has been their habit at home, the Sparks came out sharp offensively and defensively, building a 22-2 lead in the first five minutes of the game and maintaining a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.

Candace Parker and Nneke Ogwumike, the reigning Finals MVP and WNBA MVP, put on a clinic in the first quarter, combining for 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting.

“We don’t get a lot of time together in training camp, but I think we’re figuring out our identity,” Parker said. “It’s still early.”

Taurasi and the league’s leading scorer, the Mercury’s Brittany Griner, were both frustrated early by foul trouble as they struggled to stay in front of the Sparks’ aggressive drives. The Sparks scored 30 of their 53 first-half points in the paint as they built a 53-36 halftime lead.

Southern California basketball fans and the large contingent of Mercury supporters who made the trip hoping to see Taurasi’s historic moment seemed destined for disappointment early. The Chino native picked up three fouls in the first 5:24 of the game, including an elbow to the back of Ogwumike’s head on a rebound and another elbow into Parker’s ribs as she fought through a screen.

Taurasi was inserted back into the game in the second quarter and gunned for the record, finally getting it on a layup after she blew by Ogwumike. That brought her shooting line to 5-for-12, but put her into the history books with 7,489 points, breaking Tina Thompson’s record.

Taurasi would have preferred to break the record in Phoenix, but said it was special to do it in L.A. as well.

“I’ve played a lot of basketball in the streets of Los Angeles ... this is where I fell in love with the game,” she said.

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In the second half, Agler got into his bench and was able to rest Ogumike and Parker down the stretch, as his team maintained its large lead, eventually expanding it to 81-51 early in the fourth quarter.

The Sparks were led by Ogwumike, who posted 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting, and Parker, who had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks.

The Mercury (6-5) was led by Taurasi’s 19 points on 7-for-16 shooting.

The Sparks will hit the road for games at Indiana (Saturday), Connecticut (June 27) and Atlanta (June 30) over the next two weeks before returning to the Staples Center on July 2 against the Mystics.