Mohegan — One of the biggest baskets in Tuesday’s WNBA semifinal was the result of one of Connecticut's shortest players setting a nifty screen for their tallest to hit a 3-pointer.

The Sun may not have former MVPs and Olympians, but they’re different. And it works really well for them.

Jonquel Jones, all 6-foot-5 of her, made a 3-pointer thanks to a screen by Courtney Williams off an inbounds play with four minutes left to give the Sun a seven-point lead.

The basket helped the second-seeded Sun pull away late for an 84-75 win over the third-seeded Los Angeles Sparks in Game 1 of the best-of-five series before 7,102 fans at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Game 2 is at the Arena on Thursday (6:30 p.m., ESPN2).

“We’re unconventional,” Connecticut’s Jasmine Thomas said. “We’re versatile. We’re different in (what our players can do) and we definitely play off those mismatches at times.”

The indefatigable Alyssa Thomas, a rock-solid 6-2 power forward who handles the ball like a point and rebounds like a post, scored 13 of her team-high 22 points in the first quarter. She played all 40 minutes and finished with 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Williams, an off-guard who has ups that allow her to rebound taller than her size, had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Jasmine Thomas had 19 points and eight assists for the Sun and did a great job defending the Sparks’ all-world point guard, Chelsea Gray.

Jones, the league’s leading rebounder, made two 3-pointers and finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

“We have great balance,” Connecticut head coach Curt Miller said. “You look at the stat sheet. Jasmine takes 16 shots. JJ takes 15 shots. Williams takes 17 shots. Alyssa Thomas takes 17 shots.

“We’re at our best when we’re sharing, distributing (the ball). And don’t take that the wrong way that I don’t think that they’re all stars in their own right, but we know we’re better when we have the balance. … You just can’t load up on one person.”

Candace Parker had 24 points and 10 assists for Los Angeles and Nneka Ogwumike had 20 points and 10 rebounds. They were the only Los Angeles players in double figures.

“If you really pay attention to L.A., we’re very similar (teams),” Jasmine Thomas said. “Candace (a 6-4 forward) handles the ball a lot. Candace is a big assist person for them. She’s able to play in transition. They also set little-on-big screens.

“(We can) be very well matched up. I just think when we can catch people off guard doing some things in a little more unorthodox way than what people are used to seeing the Sun do, then it’s effective.”

A big key to the Sun’s win was their defense on Los Angeles off-guard Riquna Williams and Gray. The two combined to shoot 3-of-17 for 8 points.

Jones broke a 64-all tie on a putback with 6 minutes, 24 seconds left. Jasmine Thomas followed with an 18-foot jumper to push the Sun’s lead to 68-64.

Gray made an 18-foot jumper on the other end for the Sparks, but Williams, after grabbing a defensive rebound, hit a 19-foot pullup jumper in transition.

Jones followed moments later with her 3-pointer to give Connecticut a 73-66 lead with 4 minutes left.

The Sun went cold in the second quarter and fell behind 40-37 at halftime. They opened the second half with the long ball to get their offense back on track.

Shekinna Stricklen, Jasmine Thomas, and Stricklen again made 3-pointers to put Connecticut ahead 46-42 just 1:31 into the third quarter.

Connecticut couldn’t extend its lead further. Parker’s 3-pointer put L.A. ahead 58-57 with 10 seconds left in the third.

Jasmine Thomas raced in for a layup with a second left to give the Sun a 59-58 edge.

Connecticut led by as much as 26-14 with 8:08 remaining in the first half when its shots stopped falling. They made just 5 of 15 the rest of the second quarter.

Ogwumike helped the Sparks recover. She scored nine that quarter as Los Angeles shot 11 of 14 (78.6 percent). Her 3-pointer cut the Sparks’ deficit to 35-33 with 3:28 left in the period.

Parker's 3-pointer gave Los Angeles its first lead, 36-35, with 2:20 left in the half.

The Sun briefly went back ahead on Jones’ layup.

Tierra Ruffin-Pratt and Parker answered with back-to-back jumpers to give Los Angeles a 40-37 halftime lead.

Alyssa Thomas buoyed Connecticut in the first half when her teammates weren’t getting their shots down. She scored the Sun’s first nine points and 13 of their first 15.

“She plays hard every minute that she’s on the court,” Sparks head coach Derek Fisher said about Thomas. “That’s what makes her difficult to play against.

“She’s always coming at you on the offensive end, whether she has the ball or she’s crashing the glass. Defensively she’s also in the action rebounding, trapping, pick and rolls, etc. So she deserves a lot credit for her performance tonight. … To play 40 minutes in a playoff game and play as hard as she did, you have to tip your cap.”

n.griffen@theday.com