Leslie has 21 points, 11 boards to becomes 1st to 6,000 points as Sparks beat Fever 75-63

Leslies tops 6,000 points, leads Sparks past Fever

LOS ANGELES — Lisa Leslie had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and became the first WNBA player to reach 6,000 career points as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Indiana Fever 75-63 on Monday night.

Leslie reached the milestone with an 11-foot jumper as the shot-clock buzzer sounded with 11.9 seconds left in the second quarter.

Candace Parker added 14 points and Noelle Quinn had 10 points for the Sparks (8-11), who shot a season-high 51 percent in getting their fourth victory in six games.

Katie Douglas scored 16 points for the Eastern Conference-leading Fever (17-5), whose five-game winning streak ended. Tamika Catchings added 15 points and Briann January had 10 points.

Los Angeles shot 58 percent in the first half and built a 17-point advantage before the Fever narrowed the deficit to 51-50 with 8:17 to play. But the Sparks used a 9-0 spree to extend their lead to 62-52 with 4:48 remaining.

Leslie, one of four remaining players from the league’s first season in 1997, began the year with 5,909 points but missed 11 games due to a sprained right knee and bruised right hip.

The eight-time All-Star, who now has 6,010 points, is also tops in career rebounds with 3,214.

Los Angeles’ Tina Thompson, in her first season with the Sparks after 12 with Houston, Indiana’s Tamecka Dixon and San Antonio’s Vickie Johnson have also been in the league since the start. Leslie, who sat out the 2007 season after the birth of her daughter, and Johnson have already announced they are retiring at the end of this season.