LOS ANGELES -- Injuries and off-court scandal created a trying season for the two-time WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks.

	Tamecka Dixon has helped L.A. win the past two WNBA titles.

Since June, two key reserves have been dismissed and All-Stars Lisa Leslie, DeLisha Milton and Tamecka Dixon were injured.

The controversy, injuries and a four-game losing skid in Julyand August were more than the Sparks had experienced in their last two championship seasons.

Just when it seemed the team was in disarray, the trio returned to help the Sparks win their final five regular-season games and claim a fourth consecutive Western Conference title.

"We've been through as much as we could and we're still sitting atop the West and have a great chance to threepeat,'' Dixon said. "We're just starting to get our chemistry back and that's going to be key.''

The top-seeded Sparks (24-10) open the playoffs Thursday at fourth-seeded Minnesota (18-16). No. 2 Houston (20-14) plays No. 3 Sacramento (19-15) Friday in the other Western Conference first-round series.

In the East, conference champion Detroit (25-9) opens against fourth-seeded Cleveland (17-17) Friday, and No. 2 Charlotte (18-16) plays No. 3 Connecticut (18-16) starting Thursday.

"Our players know that this is playoff time now,'' Sparks coach Michael Cooper said. "The fire has been stoked.''

In preparation for pursuing a third straight championship, some of the Sparks talked to the Los Angeles Lakers, who won three consecutive NBA titles from 2000-02.

"The biggest thing they told us was just to stay focused,'' Dixon said. "It's going to be the toughest thing that we've ever done thus far.''

	L.A.'s DeLisha Milton ranks among the top 15 players in the league in both scoring and rebounding.

The team got a shock in June, when it waived Latasha Byears, reportedly amid a police investigation into an alleged sexual assault on a former teammate.

Then last week, veteran center Rhonda Mapp was dismissed from the WNBA for violating its anti-drug program. She cannot apply for reinstatement for two years.

"It's very weird and it's something that I never would have imagined I would experience in my life,'' said Milton, who has spent her five-year WNBA career in Los Angeles.

"There's a lot of things that I've been sheltered from. To see some of the things in such proximity, it makes you tremble a little bit.''

Unlike the past two years, the Sparks didn't compile the league's best record, so Detroit would have home-court advantage over the Sparks if they meet in the finals.

But Los Angeles had a better road record (13-4) than at home (11-6).

"People probably feel like the Sparks don't have any hunger left. That's not true,'' said Leslie, who missed four weeks after injuring her knee in the league's All-Star game. "We've been through so much adversity this year. We are really focused.''

Last year, the Sparks went 6-0 in the playoffs. In 2001, they won six of seven playoff games.

Los Angeles owns a 16-game winning streak against Minnesota, and held Lynx star Katie Smith scoreless for the first time in 158 WNBA games in an 88-65 victory Aug. 22.

"I know Katie Smith, she's going to try to shoot the lights out,'' Milton said. "If we can dominate the boards and limit Katie Smith, we have a great chance of winning.''

Before the blowout, 11 of the teams' previous 12 meetings were decided by less than 10 points.

"Playoffs are different. We cannot look at the 16-0. All of that is scratched out,'' Leslie said. "I know that team is definitely going to work as hard as they can to find a way. They're excellent shooters.''