Jackson, Storm beat L.A.

Lauren Jackson had 20 points, eight rebounds and four steals to lead the Seattle Storm to a 78-70 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Betty Lennox added 16 points and Sue Bird had 14 points and tied a career high with eight assists for the Storm (10-10), who have won 3 of 5 after losing four in a row.

Lisa Leslie scored 19 points and Mwadi Mabika added 14 points for the Sparks (10-8), who fell three games behind first-place Sacramento in the Western Conference.

The Sparks’ Chamique Holdsclaw, the WNBA’s leading scorer, missed the game with a pulled left hamstring.

Raffaella Masciadri replaced Holdsclaw and made the first start of her two-year WNBA career.

The Storm used an 10-1 surge to take a 36-28 lead with 28.5 seconds left in the first half. Jackson and Lennox each made a 3-point shot during the run.

Los Angeles narrowed its deficit to 47-43 but Seattle used a 13-2 spree to build a 60-45 lead with 11:23 to play. Jackson made a pair of 3-point baskets.

The Sparks drew to within 75-70 on Nikki Teasley’s 3-pointer with 30.7 seconds remaining. But Francesca Zara made two free throws with 28.6 seconds left to give the Storm a 77-70 lead.

Seattle scored 19 points off 13 Los Angeles turnovers and outrebounded the Sparks 31-24.

Monarchs 73, Mystics 59: At Sacramento, Yolanda Griffith and Nicole Powell each scored 17 points, helping Sacramento pull away in the second half and beat Washington.

The Western Conference-leading Monarchs won their second straight and fourth in five games. They improved to 7-1 at home and completed a season-series sweep of the Mystics. Alana Beard had 15 points and Charlotte Smith-Taylor had 13 for Washington, which has lost two straight and 3 of 4. Beard had just five points in the second half and Smith-Taylor was scoreless.