Los Angeles shredded the Mercury on the inside, shooting 58% and scoring 62 points-- not a misprint-- in the paint.

Holdsclaw (22 and 12) says she'll retire if the Sparks win it all: "The championship is what I'm searching for. If I win this year, I'm done."

Merc coach Westhead explains how his team fell: "Leslie was getting off so we decided to trap her and double-up on her. Then she started to make some spectacular passes to her teammates, who then chewed us up.... We changed defenses and nothing seemed to work."