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Dream-Sparks Preview

May 29, 2010 - 4:26 PM By ANDY LEFKOWITZ STATS Editor

Atlanta (5-0) at Los Angeles (1-3), 8:00 p.m. EDT

The Atlanta Dream are still the WNBA's lone unbeaten team. To keep that streak alive, they'll need to win in a place where they have never lost.

The Dream go for their sixth consecutive win Sunday night against the Los Angeles Sparks.

Atlanta (5-0) may have taken a big step toward becoming an elite team Friday, withstanding a late 16-0 run en route to a 96-93 win over the defending champion Mercury in Phoenix.

Angel McCoughtry, the reigning Eastern Conference player of the week, led the Dream with 28 points. Sancho Lyttle added 20 points with 17 rebounds, while Erika DeSouza also scored 20 and pulled down 12 boards.

After going 4-30 as an expansion team in 2008, Atlanta needed 13 games before posting its sixth win last year. The Dream are 2-2 against the Sparks with both wins coming at Staples Center.

McCoughtry, who went on to be named rookie of the year after being the top overall pick in last year's draft, averaged 14.5 points against the Sparks.

Atlanta, though, got huge contributions from Iziane Castro Marques. The Brazilian guard-forward scored 27 points in an 84-79 win in Los Angeles on Sept. 1 and had 26 in a 91-87 home loss to the Sparks nine days earlier.

Castro Marques is tied with DeSouza for third on the team with 13.4 points per game behind Lyttle (14.6) and McCoughtry (22.4).

The Dream will wrap up their four-game trip Tuesday against Seattle, which is unbeaten through three games at home. First, they'll meet a Los Angeles team that's just happy to playing in front of friendly faces.

After an 0-3 start, Los Angeles opened its home schedule Friday with an 81-75 win over Washington behind 30 points and 10 rebounds from Candace Parker.

"We've been getting booed at and getting called names on the road," coach Jennifer Gillom said. "So it was great hearing people cheer for us."

Parker - now the face of the franchise following the retirement of Lisa Leslie - is averaging 19.0 points and 10.8 rebounds.

"I feel like we had a great week of practice," said Parker, who has four double-doubles. "I was really pushed in practice. My teammates did a good job of getting me the ball in the right spots."

Parker totaled 38 points and 22 rebounds in two games against Atlanta in 2009.