NEW YORK -- See, you thought this was going to be New York's night.

	Not even Joan Jett and her voodoo doll could lift the Liberty over Los Angeles in Game 1.

Martina Navratilova was in Madison Square Garden for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, wearing a Liberty jersey. Joan Jett was here, of course, utilizing her Liberty-opponent voodoo doll, as per custom.

(I was on press row at a Duke women's game years ago, and some Cameron Crazy seated right behind me kept yelling, "Are you feelin' it Evel?!!!'' whenever a Blue Devil scored. And I laughed like every single time. Joan Jett wielding the voodoo doll has the same effect on me.)

That little girl who does the Pepsi commercials was here. Does she have three names? All game, I kept trying to think of what they were.

Even the Big Apple mayor, Michael Bloomberg, was in the house, holding a "Beat L.A.'' sign.

And Tamecka Dixon, the Los Angeles Sparks' starting shooting guard, was forced into being a spectator after encountering slippery bus steps earlier in the day.

Hey, if all that wasn't enough, one of the Liberty fans' favorites, Becky Hammon, was en fuego. Those who swoon for the South Dakotan (not exactly a small group, ya know) were loving it, as Hammon hit 7of 9 shots -- four of them 3-pointers -- on the way to a team-high 18 points.

Oh, and even beloved, 95-year-old Sue Wicks -- oh, stop it, she's 35 -- hit her first 3-pointer of the season.

Sure, absolutely. New York's night. Send those WNBA defending champions back to California down 1-0. Had to happen, right?

It didn't happen. The Liberty had a nine-point lead at one point in the first half. Then it was tied at halftime. Then the Liberty were trailing. Then L.A. won 71-63.

What did Burgess Meredith say to Rocky in one of those sequels? Was it, "He'll kill ya to death, Rock!'' Something like that.

	Mwadi Mabika's 20 points and L.A.'s relentless defense were too much for New York.

Well, that's what the Sparks do.

"We know we made some mistakes,'' the Liberty's Tari Phillips said. "And they are a team that looks for mistakes.''

And then kills ya to death for them. (Or is it "He'll murder ya to death, Rock?'' See, I can't remember anything important anymore.)

Anyway, Latasha Byears started because Dixon couldn't. Before shootaround in the morning, Dixon fell coming off the bus and hurt her back and knee. She grew up in New Jersey and had a bunch of family and friends in the crowd Thursday. She was so looking forward to the Garden stage.

"This is the building you want to play in,'' said Dixon, who watched Knicks games here as a kid.

Dixon said she didn't understand why the Sparks' team bus wasn't allowed to go down a ramp at the Garden; instead the team got out at the street and the steps got wet and she went flying.

Garden security, apparently, dictated the drop-off point. These things happen.

But what doesn't ever happen is that the Sparks lose their cohesiveness just because a big piece of the puzzle is missing. Byears stepped in, then acted as if she was kind of shrugging off her crucial 11 rebounds.

"That's my job,'' she said. "That's what they pay me for.''

But there was, no doubt, a look of satisfaction on her face. All the Sparks had reason to be pleased with themselves.

Mwadi Mabika led the way in scoring with 20 points, and also had eight rebounds. Rookie Nikki Teasley played 38 minutes and had eight points and 11 assists.

Lisa Leslie (15 points, nine rebounds) gets a lot of flack from some fans for dishing it down low, but she took a lot of it Thursday.

Sparks coach Michael Cooper was steaming mad about that at some points in the game, but Leslie hardly blinked. Later, when she and DeLisha Milton (17 points, six rebounds) were asked what they did to shut down Tamika Whitmore (five points), Milton was explaining it ("Stymie her, contest every shot she took ...'') and then Leslie jokingly (or half-jokingly) said, "Don't tell them too much.''

Actually, though, what the Sparks did was obvious. They played relentless defense. They made the Liberty work hard for everything, even stuff New York didn't end up getting.

Phillips chastised herself afterward for her 4-for-13 night (12 points), saying she missed opportunities. But it's not like the Sparks really gave her all that many.

The Liberty players said they learned some things, and that they now just have to apply the lessons and try to knock off the Sparks twice in L.A.

Yeah, that's all. Yikes.

"It hurts, and then you go in the shower and roll your eyes back and get a little (ticked),'' Wicks said. "You get angry, but you have to channel that anger. We had a great opportunity, our last home game. It would have meant so much with the traveling we have to do if we could have stole this one. But you have to clear your mind, because you need only positive thoughts.''

True, that's exactly how the Liberty players should think. But, perhaps inadvertently, Wicks captured the essence of facing the Sparks.

They're so good, they make you think you have to "steal'' victories against them even when you're in your own building.

Oh, and they're voodoo-proof, too.

Mechelle Voepel of the Kansas City Star is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. She can be reached at mvoepel@kcstar.com.