Mohegan — The Connecticut Sun are hurting and watching their playoff hopes burn.

Connecticut was down two starters and a reserve due to injuries on Sunday against the Atlanta Dream. That ain’t exactly a winning formula.

Injuries don’t excuse Connecticut’s defensive negligence in the first half of a 102-92 loss to Atlanta, however. The Sun were too often a spectator in that half like the 5,319 fans that showed up at Mohegan Sun Arena, with the Sun losing their fourth straight game.

Atlanta went on a shock-and-awe campaign of 3-pointers in the first half as it burned through Connecticut’s record book.

The Dream made 10 3-pointers and scored 40 second-quarter points in the first half, both records against the Sun. It also scored 63, the most a Connecticut opponent has ever scored against it in a half.

“Defensively, everyone can still give a little more,” Sun Jasmine Thomas said. “We didn’t guard the 3-point line very well at all. They got comfortable from there, so even though we were shooting well, they’re shooting threes, and we’re shooting twos.”

Angel McCoughtry couldn’t be stopped no matter how Connecticut guarded her. She scored 33 and had a game-high eight rebounds for the Dream (10-16).

“I would say that (Atlanta) was hot,” Sun head coach Anne Donovan said, “but at some point, you get a grip and run them off the (3-point) line and you make them do something different. And, of course, we talked about it at halftime. We talked about it in every timeout, but I don’t think until we got down that much (63-43 late in the first half) did the reality check set in for us as defenders.

“Forty points in one quarter. We held them to 39 the entire second half. So really, it was just a huge lapse. … We’re not going to get out of our holes, especially being limited on our roster. That’s a thing of the past.”

Connecticut (12-14) is three games behind the fourth-place Washington Mystics (15-11) in the Eastern Conference standings. It’s mathematically four games behind as the Mystics won the season series to clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The top four teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs. The Sun have just eight games left and have the missed the playoffs the previous two seasons.

All-star guard Alex Bentley, Connecticut’s second-leading scorer, is out indefinitely with a right ankle injury and wearing a boot.

Starting forward Alyssa Thomas is still out with a shoulder sprain while reserve rookie center Elizabeth Williams continues to nurse a knee contusion.

Offense wasn’t an issue for Connecticut on Sunday with Jennifer Lacy continuing her astonishing shooting streak. Lacy, who was signed in early July after being waived by the Los Angeles Sparks, scored a career-high 25 with a team-high seven rebounds.

Lacy made all six of her first-half shots, including three 3-pointers. She scored 20 and 21 in the previous two games.

“We let them get their confidence going from the 3-point line,” Lacy said. “We just let them get too comfortable.”

Camille Little scored a season-high 22 points for the Sun. Reserve Shekinna Stricklen had 12 points and Jasmine Thomas scored 10.

“This is our job; this is the time when people step up,” Sun Camille Little said. “When you get an opportunity to play, you take advantage of it.

“It sucks to be limited, but this is what we do. You just have to find a way to get it done. Other teams don’t care that we have people hurt. They’re still going to play. They’re still going to show up. So we have to do the same thing.”

n.griffen@theday.com

Twitter: @MetalNED