Los Angeles ? It is hard to go undefeated for an entire season without a few lucky victories.

Lisa Leslie scored nine of her 19 points in the final 41/2 minutes and followed her own shot in the final seconds, helping the Los Angeles Sparks remain unbeaten with a 76-75 victory over the Minnesota Lynx.

Los Angeles had its largest lead at 65-57 with 4:59 remaining, but Minnesota responded with an 18-9 run. Katie Smith scored eight points during the burst and buried two free throws, giving the Lynx a 75-74 lead with 12 seconds left.

Leslie missed a layup at the other end, but beat teammate DeLisha Milton to the rebound and put it back with two-tenths of a second left. Tamecka Dixon stole the inbounds pass as the Sparks held on for their 14th straight victory over the Lynx.

Dixon, a Kansas University product, scored 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting for Los Angeles, which shot 50 percent (31-of-62) from the floor.

Milton collected 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Nikki Teasley added 14 points and 12 assists for the Sparks. Leslie had eight rebounds.

Svetlana Abrosimova scored 20 points, and Smith finished with 18 for Minnesota, which lost despite shooting 54 percent (30-of-56).

Sting 58, Mercury 50

Phoenix — Andrea Stinson had 19 points and 10 rebounds, helping Charlotte beat Phoenix.

Stinson, who scored the first eight Sting points, shot 8-of-14 from the field. Charlotte (5-2) has won five of six.

Anna DeForge, in her first start as a member of the Mercury, scored 10 points. Kayte Christensen also had 10 for Phoenix (1-7), which has lost five in a row.

The Mercury went scoreless for more than five minutes in the second half, falling behind 44-37 with 12:37 to play. But Phoenix closed to within 48-46 with 6:57 remaining, taking advantage of Sting miscues. Charlotte committed 22 turnovers on the night.

It was Stinson’s sixth career double-double.

Monarchs 68, Lynx 55

Sacramento, Calif. — Tangela Smith scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half, leading slumping Sacramento to a victory over Minnesota.

Edna Campbell had 15 points, rookie Kara Lawson scored 14, and Yolanda Griffith had 13 for Sacramento (3-5), which snapped a four-game losing streak and avenged a 72-71 loss to Minnesota in the second game of the season.

Tamika Williams had 15 points, and Janell Burse scored 13 for Minnesota (3-4).