Los Angeles Sparks star Candace Parker had a spectacular WNBA debut against the Phoenix Mercury, who responded less than three weeks later by spoiling the heralded rookie's home debut.

Parker and the Sparks meet the defending WNBA champions for the third time Sunday when they try to avoid a fourth straight loss.

Los Angeles (10-6) opened the season with a 99-94 win at Phoenix on May 17 as Parker set a league record for points in a debut with 34. She also finished with 12 rebounds and made 6-of-7 from the field in the fourth quarter.

When the teams met at Staples Center on June 6, it was Diana Taurasi who turned in the late heroics as Phoenix (8-8) rallied from an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter for an 85-79 win. She scored 13 of her 29 points over the final 10 minutes for the Mercury, while Parker finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

"It was a playoff atmosphere, just like the time we played Phoenix down there," Sparks coach Michael Cooper said after the loss. "This team showed you what championship heart is all about. When the game was on the line, they rolled up their sleeves and got after it."

Phoenix guard Cappie Pondexter is averaging 30.0 points and Taurasi 26.5 in the first two meetings with the Sparks this season. Pondexter, though, has missed two straight games due to fatigue and her status is uncertain.

Defending against the high-scoring Mercury backcourt could be a challenge again for Los Angeles, which has had trouble against opposing superstars during its current losing streak - all at home. Shameka Christon scored 28 points in New York's 89-78 win at Staples Center on Tuesday and Seimone Augustus had 29 points as Minnesota won 88-70 on Thursday.

Both of those losses featured poor fourth quarters for the Sparks. They were outscored 38-16 in the final quarter in the loss to New York and 32-15 by Minnesota.

Cooper made lineup changes Thursday, inserting rookie Shannon Bobbitt and Raffaella Masciadri into his backcourt in place of Kiesha Brown and Marie Ferdinand-Harris, but the result was the same.

"These are tough games to swallow but I think they are going to make us become the team we're supposed to be," Cooper said.

The Mercury have won six of eight, but both losses have come against New York. They had a four-game winning streak snapped as they played without Pondexter in a 93-83 home loss to the Liberty on Saturday.

Taurasi scored 25 points, but missed 12 of 19 shots as the Mercury shot 38.5 percent (30-of-78). No other player for Phoenix had more than 11 points.