Los Angeles — The Connecticut Sun did enough Sunday to be just the second team this season to lead the league-leading Los Angeles Sparks at halftime.

Connecticut, however, continued its season-long habit of not doing enough to win games.

The Sun’s halftime lead evaporated quickly as Los Angeles used a third-quarter surge to win, 80-73, before 9,441 at Staples Center.

Los Angeles started the second half with an 11-0 run and outscored the Sun, 25-13, in the third quarter.

“The third quarter was the turning point,” Connecticut head coach Curt Miller said. “We missed some shots that we are capable of making, and when you allow L.A. to get out in transition is when they’re at their best and really hard to defend.”

The Sun (3-12) shook up its roster less than 24 hours earlier when it traded starting center Kelsey Bone to the Phoenix Mercury for rookie guard Courtney Williams, the draft rights to injured rookie post Jillian Alleyne, and their second-round pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft.

“I think we played our butts off,” Connecticut’s Chiney Ogwumike said. “We didn’t make the right plays at the right time, but, for us, this was almost a win in the sense of how hard we played.”

Alyssa Thomas had 11 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists for Connecticut and Ogwumike scored 16 with seven rebounds.

The Sun couldn’t stop Nneka Ogwumike, Chiney’s older sister. She made 11 of her 16 shots for 27 points with seven rebounds for the Sparks (13-1).

Ogwumike did the majority of the damage for Los Angeles, but it was fellow starter Essence Carson (10 points) who was its second-half catalyst for an 11-0 run.

Connecticut led 38-36 to start the second half when Carson made a 3-pointer. She ended the run with another 3-pointer to give Los Angeles a 45-38 lead with seven minutes, 8 seconds left in the third quarter. It never trailed again.

Carson’s pull-up jumper pushed Los Angeles ahead, 67-55, with 7:12 remaining in the game.

“Defense seems to be our Achilles heel,” Thomas said. “We can’t win games if we can’t play defense.”

Jasmine Thomas had 14 points, five assists, and four steals for the Sun, but also turned it over five times.

Alex Bentley and Camille Little both struggled offensively. Bentley shot 5-of-16 and scored 11. Little missed six of her seven shots.

Los Angeles also scored 19 off of Connecticut’s 15 turnovers.