Another L.A. Team Is on a Title Mission

You never get tired of all-out effort.

The ones exerting it might get tired, but watching it remains one of the best spectator joys in sports. It’s like finding a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop that stays open 24 hours.

The Sparks went at it for the entire game Sunday, the same way they’ve gone at it for practically the entire season.

They exhibited the same intensity level throughout their 101-76 playoff victory over the Phoenix Mercury, whether it was the stretch that enabled them to take control midway through the second half or the telling sequence of a steal and an offensive rebound in the final three minutes--when they led by 20 points.

“The difference between us winning and losing is our attitude and willingness to come out and work hard,” Spark star Lisa Leslie said.

On most teams, the difference between winning and losing would be having a most-valuable-player candidate like Leslie. But the Sparks actually added a point to their lead while Leslie was sidelined for four minutes in the first half because of a mild knee injury.

The Sparks just keep coming at you. That’s why removing Leslie with 2:56 remaining did nothing to soften the margin of victory, because the Sparks continued with their relentless fastbreak.

By finishing off the Mercury in two games in their best-of-three series, the Sparks bought themselves three days before the Western Conference finals begin Thursday. The good news for them is that they have today off. The bad news is they have two practice days before it’s game time.

“Practice is tougher,” guard Tamecka Dixon said. “Games are the fun thing.”

That’s because Coach Michael Cooper can’t dictate everything the way he does during the workouts.

“We run countless sprints, for any and everything that you can think of,” forward DeLisha Milton said. “And he creates new reasons for us to run every day, it seems like.”

Travel during a drill? Run. Make a bad pass? Run.

Sometimes it’s the length of the floor and back. Sometimes it’s down and back twice. Sometimes it’s only down to the other free-throw line and back.

“I think we prepare very well,” Dixon said. “Coop and the coaching staff have us prepared from training camp. We’re one of the best-conditioned teams in this league. We can run with anybody.”

The tone for these playoffs was set before Game 1 in Phoenix, when Cooper conducted what he called “an old-fashioned, get-up-in-you” practice.

The Sparks responded with a WNBA playoff record of 86 points in the first game Friday night, then surpassed their mark Sunday.

For all of the high scoring, defense is what makes the difference.

Phoenix stayed close in the first six minutes despite a barrage of Spark three-point baskets because L.A. couldn’t get enough stops at the other end.

But with the Mercury still lingering with 13 minutes left in the second half, the Sparks forced three turnovers, held the Mercury to five points and stretched the lead from nine to 18 over the next five minutes.

“We’re just focused day in and day out and try to get the job done defensively,” Dixon said. “We feel like defensively, we can close the majority of this league out.

“Defense is what gets us going again. We hit a couple of dry spells throughout the game--two- or three-minute dry spells. What we do is try to focus defensively to get it back, whether that be getting a 30-second shot-clock violation or a steal. But we pick it up defensively.”

It’s just about time to see if the Sparks are ready for a breakthrough. If the Houston Comets get past Sacramento, the Sparks will take on the only champion the WNBA has known since its inauguration in 1997. Houston was the superior team during the conference finals matchup a year ago, but the Sparks have taken great strides since then. They have that look now, putting together flurries where they play at a higher level than any other team in the league.

Leslie likens the transformation under first-year coach Cooper to the Lakers’ progress under Phil Jackson.

“Coach Cooper has got us fired up about playing defense and we believe that’s the way we’re going to win a championship,” Leslie said.

Is this town ready for another championship? It seems as if we just finished sweeping up the confetti (and putting out the fires) from the Lakers’ title in June.

There was a little taste of that same feeling on Sunday.

The home team in the gold uniforms rolled.

“I Love L.A.” played over the Forum loudspeakers.

Never get tired of that, either.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com