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The Los Angeles Sparks are on a mission and have overcome myriad obstacles to post a 14-1 record -- the best mark in the history of the WNBA after 15 games.Standing in the Sparks way is the Atlanta Dream, who will be putting the final touch on a 6,000-mile, three-game road trip on Thursday at Staples Center.The Sparks have won three straight since dropping a 72-68 decision at home to the Minnesota Lynx on June 21.The Dream frittered away a late lead Tuesday against the Seattle Storm and lost their fourth straight game.The Sparks, on the other hand, celebrated an emotional 89-84 victory against the Dallas Wings on Tuesday.Down by 22 points in the third quarter, the Sparks turned up the heat and earned the win against the Wings.On the day her college coach at Tennessee, Pat Summitt, died, Candace Parker recorded a double-double (31 points, 13 rebounds) to lead the Sparks. Parker, who wore orange shoes with the word rebound written on them, scored 25 second-half points to spark the comeback.The Dream (8-7) will have their hands full as they try to bounce back from Tuesdays disheartening 84-18 defeat to the Storm. In that game, they led by four late in the fourth period, but were outscored 7-0 in the final 1:22.The Dream were unable to stop Seattle rookie Breanna Stewart, who scored 38 points -- tied for the most by a player this season. And now Atlanta must contend with the high-scoring Sparks duo of Nneka Ogwumike and Parker.Ogwumike set a WNBA record with 23 consecutive made field goals from June 7 through June 14, spanning three games. The former Stanford star leads the WNBA in field-goal percentage at .681.The Sparks average 85.9 points per game. Ogwumike leads the team with 17.1 points per game. Parker at 16.3 and Kristi Toliver at 14.7 also average double figures in scoring.But it is defense where Los Angeles excels. The Sparks give up only 72.7 points per game -- the best in the league. Only the Chicago Sky (twice) and Dallas have cracked the 80-point barrier against the Sparks this season.Atlanta averages 83 points per game but are averaging only a shade over 75 points in their past four games.The Dream will rely on Angel McCoughtry, who leads the team in scoring (20.1). The seven-year veteran had a streak of 29 consecutive double-doubles snapped in the loss to the Storm. She scored 22 points but pulled down only seven rebounds.Tipoff for Thursdays game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET. Wholesale Air Jordan 1 Australia . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth. Cheap Air Jordan 1 Wholesale . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. http://www.cheapairjordan1australia.com/ . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. Cheap Jordan 1 Australia Sale .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Air Jordan 1 Retro Australia . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. PITTSBURGH -- Jayson Werths wide grin belied the fact that the Washington Nationals right fielder is an old hand at clubhouse celebrations, having played on eight division-winning teams during his 14-year big league career.Werths latest crown came Saturday night when the Nationals clinched their third National League East title in five years, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 behind 5 1/3 scoreless innings from rookie reliever Reynaldo Lopez.Its never gets old, Werth said. Never.Stephen Drews two-run single capped a three-run first inning for the Nationals, who return to the postseason after a one-year absence. Their win ensured a playoff berth, and they won the division about 20 minutes later when the second-place New York Mets lost to Philadelphia.Its such a hard thing to accomplish, Werth said. You spent six months trying to do it. Its why you go to spring training early, so you can do everything possible to put yourself in positon to win the division.The Nationals won the division in Dusty Bakers first season as manager. He replaced Matt Williams, who fired following a 2015 season that began with high hopes of Washington reaching the World Series for the first time in franchise history.Baker had been out of the game for two years after being fired by the Cincinnati Reds following the 2013 season, four days after they lost to the Pirates in the NL wild card.Thats what I came here for, Baker said, standing in a corner of the clubhouse and watching his players celebrate. Im telling you -- let these young men have a great time tonight, back to work tomorrow. First step in a four-step process. This step is the hardest to get. Im just so happy for these guys. I love them. I love this team.Lopez (4-3) came on to the start the bottom of the fourth inning with a 6-1 lead and allowed three hits while striking out five and walking one. He was removed a runner on first and one out in the ninth inning.He was really impressive, Werth said. We still have some questions about our roster going into the postseason. Hes a great talent and if he pitches like he did tonight he can really help us.Marc Rzepczynski and Bllake Treinen got one out each to end the game, and a pocket of Nationals fans behind the visiting dugout cheered.ddddddddddddJoe Ross allowed one run and five hits over 2 2/3 innings in his second start since missing 2 1/2 months with right shoulder inflammation.Drews single came after Bryce Harpers sacrifice fly. Harper also drove in a run with a grounder during a three-run fourth that included three errors and increased the Nationals lead to 6-1. Jayson Werth hit into a run-scoring forceout and Anthony Rendon had a sacrifice fly.Wilson Ramos had three hits for the Nationals, and Drew and Werth added two each.Pittsburgh lost for the just the third time in 10 games but fell four games out of the second NL wild card with eight games remaining.Rookie Josh Bell homered in the third.Ivan Nova (12-8) lost his second straight start, giving up six runs -- three earned -- and eight hits in four innings. He had gone 5-0 in his first eight starts after being acquired from the New York Yankees on Aug. 1 in a trade.I thought he was getting into a nice spot going into the fourth inning and we more or less took him out of the game with our defense, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.TRAINERS ROOMNationals: Drew was taking the place of 2B Daniel Murphy (strained glute), who did not start for the sixth game in a row.Pirates: RF Gregory Polanco (facial bruise) sat out a day after being injured while running in the fence while chasing a fly ball. . LF Starling Marte (back strain) was not in the starting lineup for the 17h time in the last 18 games. . SS Jordy Mercer (right forearm discomfort) did not start for a third consecutive game.UP NEXTNationals: Rookie RHP A.J. Cole (1-2, 4.68 ERA) will start Sunday in the finale of the three-game series.Pirates: RHP Tyler Glasnow (0-2, 4.11) will make his third career start and first since July 23. The rookie was placed on the disabled list the following day with shoulder inflammation and has made three relief appearances since being activated Aug. 28. ' ' '