DeWanna Bonner scored 20 points and Brionna Jones contributed 17 points and eight rebounds to help the Connecticut Sun post an 83-74 victory over the host Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday.
Alyssa Thomas added 16 points, 12 assists and five steals for Connecticut (9-3), which finished the game with a 9-0 run to win the opener of a three-game road swing.
Nneka Ogwumike recorded 19 points, 15 rebounds and five assists for the Sparks (5-6) but made just 7 of 20 shot attempts. The board count was a season high as Ogwumike registered her sixth double-double of the season.
Jordin Canada had 14 points, five rebounds and six assists and Azura Stevens added 12 points and three steals for Los Angeles. Karlie Samuelson scored 11 points off the bench for the Sparks, who have lost four of their past six games.
Sparks guard Lexie Brown (illness) missed her second straight game.
Connecticut made 53.1 percent of its shots, including 6 of 15 attempts from 3-point range. The Sun have won six of their past eight games.
Los Angeles connected on 41.2 percent of its attempts and was a lowly 4 of 19 from behind the arc.
The Sun began the decisive game-ending spurt with two free throws by DiJonai Carrington to take a 76-74 lead with 2:48 left. Jones scored on a layup to increase the margin to four with 1:54 to play.
Sparks coach Curt Miller — the former coach of the Sun — was called for a technical foul with 1:27 left. Bonner made the technical and added a layup 13 seconds later as Connecticut stretched its lead to 81-74.
Carrington sank two free throws with 38.1 seconds left to make it a nine-point game as the Sun closed it out.
The Sparks led 44-39 at halftime.
Los Angeles was up 59-54 after two free throws by Ogwumike with 2:59 remaining in the third quarter. The Sun finished the period with a 9-4 run to tie things at 63.
Samuelson knocked down a jumper to tie it at 74 with 3:01 left in the fourth before Connecticut’s game-ending dash.
–Field Level Media
