HOUSTON, Sept. 6 (AP) - DeLisha Milton-Jones had 16 points and seven rebounds to help the Los Angeles Sparks clinch a playoff berth with an 84-66 win over the slumping Houston Comets on Saturday night.

Candace Parker scored 12 points, Lisa Leslie added 11 and Temeka Johnson 10 for the Sparks (19-13), who rebounded from a loss at San Antonio the previous night that snapped a four-game winning streak.

"It was the first game in a long time that we played 40 minutes of good basketball,'' Los Angeles coach Michael Cooper said. "We had some downs when we started the game, but we kept our composure, especially after losing a tough game to San Antonio last night.''

Los Angeles is in third in the Western Conference, two games behind the Silver Stars and Seattle.

Tina Thompson scored 18 points and Shannon Johnson added 11 for Houston (14-16), which lost its fourth straight since returning from the league's monthlong Olympic break. Michelle Snow had nine points and Sancho Lyttle scorerd eight as the Comets dropped into sixth-place tie with defending champion Phoenix - two games behind fourth-place Sacramento.

Lyttle left the game with 2:07 to play with an undisclosed injury.

After trailing by 13 in the second quarter, Houston pulled to 53-46 on Thompson's 10-foot jumper with about 4 minutes left in the third.

The Sparks scored the next six points to restore their double-digit lead.

Los Angeles raced out to a 21-11 lead after the first quarter, scoring 13 points off 11 Houston turnovers. The Sparks increased the advantage to 33-20 on Ferdinand-Harris' field goal with 6:22 left in the second quarter.

"We were very passive and it just looked like we were kind of lackadaisical,'' Snow said.

The Comets had an 11-5 run to pull within seven with about 1:50 left in the half, and trailed 42-34 at the break.

"We turned it around and took better care of the ball in the second quarter,'' Houston coach Karleen Thompson said. "We have to come 'game-ready' as a team. We have to get down and play defense and want to go after loose balls. We have to want to do what it takes to win games. This is a playoff run and you can not expect other teams to come in here and just lie down.''