Mohegan — A plot twist that Connecticut Sun fans and observers wouldn’t have expected leading into Sunday’s afternoon’s game — the absence of reigning MVP Jonquel Jones — had nothing to do with them losing.

The Sun did so many things right against the stacked Las Vegas Aces after having to rip up their game plan Saturday night when learning that Jones would be out due to health and safety protocols.

Connecticut did one thing very, very wrong, though — it committed 22 turnovers. That aided Las Vegas in its 91-83 win before 6,814 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The Sun gave up 33 points on turnovers.

The Aces allowed only six points on eight turnovers.

“You know, basketball is interesting,” Connecticut head coach Curt Miller said. “Sometimes there’s losses that you feel good about. There’s sometimes losses that really hurt, and the same with wins that you don’t feel as good (about). And at times wins feel great. (Today), for me, was a tale of all of it.

“I hurt for them (because they weren’t) rewarded with a ‘W’ on a night where they really defended. But our turnovers against a really talented offensive team negated a ‘W’ (when) we played good enough defense in the half-court to beat them.”

Kelsey Plum scored 14 of her game-high 22 points in the third quarter for Las Vegas (18-7), which is a game behind the league-leading Chicago Sky in the overall standings. A’ja Wilson added 20 points and seven rebounds and Chelsea Gray scored 21 with nine assists.

DeWanna Bonner had 19 points and seven rebounds for the fourth-place Sun (16-9) and Brionna Jones had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Alyssa Thomas had 14 rebounds and six assists and Natisha Hiedeman and Courtney Williams both scored 16.

The Aces were the WNBA’s highest scoring team (91.3 ppg) prior to Sunday’s games, second in field goal percentage (45.9) and tops in three-point shooting percentage (37.1).

Connecticut had a better shooting percentage (47.7 to 41.9), led for almost the entire first half and were ahead 37-35 at the break.

The start of the third quarter negated the first half. The Sun turned it over on their first three possessions and the Aces turned them into three straight 3-pointers.

“A lot of those (turnover) were self-inflicted,” Williams said. “We know we have to be more locked in and take care of the ball. You know it’s a different game (otherwise).”

Gray made a go-ahead three 31 seconds into the third quarter. Plum followed with two of her own to push Las Vegas ahead, 44-37, before two minutes had elapsed in the quarter.

The Aces threatened to turn the game into a rout when Young’s three and two free throws by Plum gave them a 59-44 edge with 5:37 remaining in the third quarter.

“They had 33 points off turnovers to supplement their offensive night in the half court,” Miller said. “We held them in the 50s (otherwise) and kept them out of transition and (did) a lot of good things.

“The third quarter is the story. They outscore us by 16 points in that first four-or-five minutes, so that third quarter really changed the momentum and changed the outcome of the game.”

The Sun fought back with Bonner making a layup, followed by a three, to cut the deficit to 64-63 with 9:08 remaining.

Connecticut didn’t get any closer and Las Vegas built its lead up to 82-66 with 5:28 left.

“We weathered (the third quarter) and stayed in that game only down six (64-58) at the end of the third quarter,” Miller said. “We literally did not get a stop when they took a shot in that first four minutes (of the third).

“That’s the story of the game.”

n.griffen@theday.com