LOS ANGELES -- Candace Parker is one game away from getting the Los Angeles Sparks to the WNBA Finals. This time, she doesnt want to miss.Parker had 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in a 99-84 victory over the Chicago Sky on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 semifinals.My rookie year, it seems like just yesterday, barely missing the finals, said Parker, now in her ninth season. When I left the court, I was like, `Oh, well be back and that hasnt happened.The Sparks havent won the WNBA championship since taking back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002, when Lisa Leslie starred for the franchise.Weve learned these opportunities dont just come around and we have to take advantage of it, Parker said.Parker wasnt chosen for the U.S. womens Olympic team that won gold in Rio de Janeiro after helping them to gold medals in 2008 and 2012. But she resisted Chicago coach Pokey Chatmans assessment that shes playing with a chip on her shoulder.I dont think there was anything to prove but that we could get to the finals and were capable of winning a championship, Parker said. Our team has played as such. Thats the way you have to play when you want to put yourself in position to win a championship.League sixth woman of the year Jantel Lavender added 20 points on 10-of-11 shooting, league MVP Nneka Ogwumike had 18, Kristi Toliver 17 and Essence Carson 11 in the Sparks return to their home court at Staples Center. They won Game 1 by 20 points in Long Beach on Wednesday.The Sparks shot 54 percent from the field.Toliver hit four of the Sparks 10 3-pointers. The Sky was 3 of 13 from long-range.Reserve Clarissa Dos Santos scored 15 points and Jamierra Faulkner added 14 off the bench for the Sky. Cappie Pondexter had 13.We didnt start off well, Faulkner said. We allowed them to get comfortable and we cant allow that to happen again.Chicago rallied to close within 10 after trailing by 21 early in the third, led by Courtney Vandersloot and Tamera Young, who finished with 12.The Sparks recovered, going on a 10-1 run that extended their lead to 78-59 going into the fourth. Chelsea Gray had a three-point play and passed to a streaking Lavender, who converted on the fast break before hitting a 20-foot jumper herself.Shes a microwave. Thats what I call her, Parker said of Lavender. She comes and she heats up.Just as in Game 1, the Sparks rode a big second quarter to a dominating lead. Two nights earlier, they scored 30 points in the period. This time, they outscored the Sky 29-15, including a 12-0 run to open the quarter. The offensive load was distributed among four players: Carson had eight points, Ogwumike added seven, and Parker and Lavender had six each.When were playing well and were cheering for each other its always going to be fun, Ogwumike said, and we want it to be that all the way.TIP-INSThe Sparks improved to 5-0 against the Sky, including three regular-season victories. ... Sparks G Alana Beard and Ogwumike were named to the WNBAs All-Defensive first team. ... Brian Agler of the Sparks finished second to Minnesotas Cheryl Reeve in the voting for league coach of the year. ... Sparks co-owner Magic Johnson introduced Olympic track champion Allyson Felix to a standing ovation in the third, drawing a shy smile from the low-key Felix. ... Also on hand was Clippers All-Star Chris Paul, retired Lakers star Derek Fisher and Kiki Vandeweghe, the NBAs vice president of basketball operations.WHAT A SHOTToliver hit a 3-pointer that beat the buzzer to end the first quarter. Sandwiched between two defenders, she tossed up the ball from the left side while falling down, giving the Sparks a 28-27 lead after they had been outscored 11-2.Kristi shoots typical Kristi shots, Ogwumike said. You really cant explain them.STILL SIDELINEDChatman said Sky star Elena Delle Donne would not suit up for Game 3. She watched in street clothes because of a right thumb injury. Delle Donne shared the league scoring title with New Yorks Tina Charles, averaging 21. 5 points.WHATS NEXTGame 3 is Sunday in Chicago. Jonny Venters Jersey . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. Hunter Strickland Nationals Jersey . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. https://www.cheapnationals.com/997r-frank-robinson-jersey-nationals.html . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Michael A. Taylor Jersey . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Stephen Strasburg Jersey . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. NEW YORK -- Novak Djokovics right elbow was treated by a trainer in the third set of an otherwise matter-of-fact 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Kyle Edmund on Sunday night that put the defending champion in the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the 10th consecutive year.Djokovic was finally forced to play a full match after competing for a total of 31 minutes over the preceding five days because of injuries to his opponents in the second and third rounds.Obviously I havent played too much tennis. So Im really glad to be back, Djokovic said in an on-court interview. I thought I came out, really, from the blocks very good, playing with a high intensity.That he did. Yet while Djokovic looked quite good for the first two sets against the 84th-ranked Edmund, and again at the very end, there was that interlude that included the medical visit at 2-1 in the final set.That came right after Djokovic was broken for the first time in the match and was part of a stretch of three games in a row for Edmund.Djokovic also had his right arm worked on during his first-round victory on Day 1 of the tournament, but he got a chance to let that arm sit idle for a bit, benefiting from a walkover in the second round, then a retirement after only six games in the third.Until the issues resurfaced in the third set against Edmund, Djokovic appeared rather rested and ready.After about 75 minutes Sunday, Djokovic was ahead by two sets and a break. He produced various bits of magic alonng the way: a jumping, head-fake drop shot at an impossible angle; a stretching angled cross-court backhand pass that drew an errant volley from Edmund; a body-contorting defense-to-offense forehand that drew a roar from spectators.ddddddddddddI made Kyle work for each point, said Djokovic, whose quarterfinal opponent is No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the man he beat in the 2008 Australian Open final for the first of his 12 major championships. I wanted to move him around the court.Djokovic even cracked a smile after one effortless exchange in which he ran Edmund this way and that before dropping a backhand winner right near the baseline early in the third set.And yet it was in that same game that Edmund began his mini-run. At the ensuing changeover, Djokovic was visited by the trainer, who pressed a thumb just above the back of the players right elbow, while manipulating that joint in various ways. Edmund broke for a second consecutive time to suddenly lead 3-2 as Djokovics coach, Boris Becker, looked on from the stands, grim-faced.That, though, was that. Djokovic broke back to 3-all, and after a trade of service holds, he took the last two games. He has reached at least the quarterfinals at 29 of the past 30 Grand Slam tournaments -- the exception was his loss in the third round of Wimbledon in June against Sam Querrey. ' ' '