Fight Breaks Out At Palace As Shock Drop Second Straight at Home

By Tom Valenti: SPM MI Writer
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Players from the Shock and the Sparks became involved in a brawl at center court at the end of Tuesday night's game at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Photo by Jeff Simms.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The Los Angeles Sparks came into the Palace Tuesday night determined to end their five-game road losing streak. They did just that, literally taking down the Shock 84-81.

What will be remembered most about Tuesday night's game is the fight that broke out with less than 10 seconds remaining. Los Angeles' Candace Parker threw down Detroit’s Plenette Pierson after a particularly physical box-out during a free throw. Players from both teams got involved and started to shove. Detroit assistant coach, Rick Mahorn, stepped in to break up the fight but in his effort to do so, pushed LA's Lisa Leslie to the floor. Mahorn claims he had no intention to do so and was just trying to stop the fiasco from getting any worse.

"I was trying to protect the whole game, the integrity of the game," he said. "The WNBA is very special to me because I have four daughters. I don't even raise my hand to them, and I would never push a woman. This game, I love this game too much."

Mahorn was also involved in the 2004 Detroit Pistons-Indiana Pacers brawl while working as a Detroit broadcaster when he went into the crowd to try to pull Ron Artest away from fans.

"Rick Mahorn is known as a peacemaker, from even the brawl we had here with Indiana," Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer said. "He went out there to get people off the pile and to get people to stop the confrontation. That's who he is, that's what he does."

Leslie did not talk to the media, but Los Angeles coach Michael Cooper said that he felt Mahorn was trying to stop the fight from advancing any further.

"I think Rick was trying to play peacemaker, but he's just too big," Sparks coach Michael Cooper said. "I was only trying to grab my players, and I didn't see exactly what happened, but he apparently gently tried to push Lisa away."

DeLisha Milton-Jones shoved and punched Mahorn after the incident with Leslie and was ejected. Mahorn, Parker and Pierson were also ejected. Deanna Nolan and Shannon Bobbitt received technical fouls.

Parker couldn't remember much about the fight or how it started.

"To be honest, I don't recall exactly what happened," said Parker. "I'll have to watch the tape."

It was a very physical game and the fight had been brewing throughout.

“This was unfortunate, but things like that happen in basketball sometimes," Milton-Jones said. "The league is going to have to decide what kind of action to take." Milton-Jones had 19 on the night and Leslie finished with 10 points and six rebounds.

While trying to restrain Pierson, Ford sprained her right knee and left the floor in a wheelchair. Her status is unknown.

"I haven't seen something like that, I don't think, in my whole career," Detroit’s Katie Smith said. "This is pretty rare."

Smith led the way for the Shock with 20 points, Nolan had 14 and Ford had 13.

Detroit had not lost at home all season but has now dropped two in the past three days. They lost to Sacramento on Sunday.

The Sparks strung together a 21-4 run in the first and second quarters and at one time Detroit was down 21 during the second. The Sparks took a 48-34 lead into the locker room. The WNBA’s potential Rookie of the Year, Candace Parker, scored 15 for LA in the first half and finished with a game-high 21points.

Due to many missed layups, Detroit’s offense was plagued a bit in the first half and they shot only 30 percent from the field. But they cut into the Sparks' lead a bit in the third quarter and headed into the fourth down by 10, 62-52. LA was effective at keeping Detroit at bay, answering 3-pointers with 3-pointers, and smothering most of the Shock's surges.

However, in the closing minutes of the game Detroit was finally overcoming the barrier, and got to within one point. Then Leslie hit a mid-range jumper from inside the lane with 17 seconds to go and LA was up 80-77.

"We dug ourselves a whole in the first half, because we didn't come out ready to play," Smith said. "Two straight games now we've given up a lot of points in the first half, and that's something we've got to fix."

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