Tammy Sutton-Brown scored 18 points Tuesday night and the Indiana Fever held on for an 82-76 victory over Los Angeles after the Sparks retired Lisa Leslie's number.
Katie Douglas had 17 points and Ebony Hoffman finished with 16 for the first-place Fever (19-10), who moved 1 1/2 games ahead of their closest pursuers in the Eastern Conference. Tamika Catchings added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Sparks honored Leslie during a halftime ceremony, retiring her No. 9 jersey. Leslie led the Sparks to two WNBA championships, won three WNBA MVP awards and is a four-time Olympic gold medalist.
Tina Thompson had 21 points and a season-best 13 rebounds for the Sparks (10-19), who fell 1 1/2 games behind third-place Minnesota and one game behind fourth-place San Antonio in the race for Western Conference playoff spots.
DeLisha Milton-Jones added 16 points and rookie reserve Andrea Riley had 14 points, six assists and four rebounds for Los Angeles.
