Mohegan — Two minutes left Thursday night at Mohegan Sun Arena and the Connecticut Sun trailed the Minnesota Lynx and their three Olympians (the fourth, Seimone Augustus didn't play) by 11 points. The four-win Sun. The 15-win Lynx. Head for your cars, maybe stop by the craps table on the way.

"We get in the huddle and Alyssa (Thomas) is telling us 'we can still do it! We can still do it!'" Chiney Ogwumike was saying after. "I'm thinking she's crazy. There's two minutes left and Maya (Moore's) almost got 40."

Another reminder never to doubt Thomas. She was right. Little did any of us know The Miracle At Mohegan was about to happen.

They rallied, using Alex Bentley's late rainbow three and tied the game with 2.6 seconds left on Ogwumike's layup, following a turnover.

They survived Lindsay Whalen's missed layup at the buzzer.

They survived Ogwumike's sixth foul in overtime, hideous even by the pitiable standards of WNBA officiating.

They survived 40 points from Moore, who actually started the game 1-for-10. She had two points with 6:23 left in the third quarter ... and finished with 40. Think about that. She made 12 of her last 17 from the field, raining points on the Sun like hailstones, all while wearing Thomas and Kelly Faris.

And it didn't matter.

They crawled over broken glass and managed to beat the Lynx 93-89 to the delight of 6,739 fans, who showed more emotion in one night than they have here in years. This season may not be what anyone expected or wanted, but they'll always have The Miracle, much like Rick and Ilsa always had Paris.

The Sun are 2-1 now since throwing Phoenix a Bone. Kelsey Bone. The erstwhile center, who it turns out was a whole lot more engaging with the media than with her teammates and coaches.

"Since the trade, we are a better defensive team," Sun coach Curt Miller said after the game. "Their starters, minus Maya, shot about 33 percent (12-36) as a team. We've hit the reset button, 2-1 since the trade and 1-0 to begin the second half of the year."

The Bone trade gets better. Her departure also produced the arrival of rookie guard Courtney Williams, who appears to have been taught well by Jose Fernandez at South Florida. She had 15 points and five rebounds off the bench. Even better: she played fearlessly.

"She can score late in the shot clock," Ogwumike said.

Maybe the best part of the night, aside from the win, was the production from the new two-headed center combination of Ogwumike and Jonquel Jones. They combined to shoot 12-for-19 from the field for 29 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and solid defense. The ball moved better. There was more production. And as one longtime Sun observer said, "and no moping," taking a poke at Bone.

"Chiney is getting her bounce back," Miller said, alluding to Ogwumike's lone road back from knee surgery. "JJ (6-foot-6 and shaped like 6 o'clock) gives us length (she actually blocked Sylvia Fowles). They give us a better defensive presence. When they score like they did tonight, it's really helpful."

Remember: Ogwumike is playing in her second season here. Jones is a rookie. They are athletic, smart and hungry.

Suddenly, you look at the roster and even the "veterans," Thomas and Bentley are babies, especially considering the Lynx, who have seven players north of 30. "Ogwumike, Jones, Morgan Tuck and Williams are a start. Nights like Thursday will start to make believers from the skeptics.

"I walked out of the tunnel and said 'did that really happen?'" Ogwumike said.

It sure did, Chiney. The Sun stared down the champs Thursday night and won their biggest game in years.

"We've got a great vibe now," Miller said. "I don't know what it means for the long haul. But we're going to take it game by game."

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.