26.06 Los Angeles Sparks @ Seattle Storm

Jackson scores 32 as Storm beats LA, 69-67

Los Angeles rallied from a 16-point, second-half deficit to tie the game twice in the fourth quarter, including 61-61 on a basket by Ferdinand-Harris with 3:40 remaining.

But Jackson responded with her third 3-pointer of the game and an inside basket to give Seattle a 66-61 lead.

Live From Press Row - Storm vs. Los Angeles

Jackson Hits 500
Second Quarter: Storm 29, Los Angeles 20

Congratulations to Lauren Jackson, who with her block of DeLisha Milton-Jones moments ago became the third player in WNBA history to reach 500 career blocks. Jackson joins Lisa Leslie and Margo Dydek, and she's the youngest player to the mark. Just another milestone in a career full of them for Jackson.

Storm steals one from Sparks

Lauren Jackson scored a season-high 32 points on 12 of 15 shooting and Sue Bird added 15 points with five assists. But the Storm needed a last second steal by Swin Cash to escape the Los Angeles Sparks 67-69 Friday at KeyArena.

Game thread: Los Angeles at Seattle

There's a serious Michael Jackson theme going on at KeyArena, honoring the King of Pop who passed on Thursday at the age of 50. The Storm players requested a number of his songs for pre-game warmups, taking the court to "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and it's frequent chatter among fans and team staff.

"I want my kids to know who he was," said Storm guard Sue Bird, who added her favorite song is "Stranger in Moscow." "I think I listened to that song 24/7 while playing Moscow. It's the only song about Russia."

Coincidentally, former Storm guard Betty Lennox returns for just the second time since leaving as an unprotected player in 2007. She was picked up via free agency by Los Angeles in April and the celebrity she said she most wanted to meet was Michael Jackson.

CENTER LAUREN JACKSON:
On the physical nature of the game:
It was like 20 seconds into the game and I said, 'OK, you’re going to punch me in the chest.' I think she does it to get under my skin. When I was younger it definitely worked, but now it’s like, 'Why are you doing it?' Whatever.
On whether she's playing the best basketball of her career:
I don’t know. I definitely have a lot to work on. I have a supportive team and my teammates are definitely helping me. I have great people around me. They can’t just stop one player.

STORM HEAD COACH BRIAN AGLER:
On how the Sparks defended Lauren Jackson:
They were jamming her all night long. But she just had one of those nights when she was on: 12-for-15 from the field and got off to a tremendous start. I haven’t been here for but a year in a half, but from what I remember coaching again her I don’t know if she’s played any better than she’s playing right now. She scored a majority of our points tonight. It’s not like we were going to her a lot. She scored 30-some points on 15 shots. She had 26 the other night on 11 shots. She’s getting to the free throw line and playing very strong. People are not making it easy on her. I’m really proud of how she’s playing.

LOS ANGELES HEAD COACH MICHAEL COOPER:
On defending the Bird-Jackson pick-and-roll:
We wanted to do what we did and I thought we did a good job in it. Bird got away for a couple of shots, but I think our biggest Achilles' heel tonight was our rebounding. We gave up too many second and third shots down the stretch. They may not show up on the stat sheet, but when we had a good stop, they came up with the board and that was the biggest difference.
On defending Jackson:
I thought we did a good job in the first half. She just hit some shots. She’s a great player. She hit some tough shots and got away for a couple layups, but it took its toll in the second half and we were able to hold her down. She’s a physical offensive player so we had to play her physical like she was playing us.

Postgame Quotes/Notes - Storm 69, Los Angeles 67

MagicGracy escreveu:nossa, jogaram uma praga mt forte pra cima do LA!!

hje, dando a faxina aqui em casa
estava pnsando nisso
n tem condiçoes um timaço ficar perdendo tantos jogos
sera q qd a CP3 e a Leslie voltar,sera tarde d mais?