Mohegan — Curt Miller was nearing the end of his press conference following Thursday night’s tense win over the Seattle Storm when a reporter asked him about Sunday’s game against the Chicago Sky.

Miller looked down, rubbed his head and smirked.

“Oh, my gosh,” Miller quipped.

Connecticut goes from one powerhouse to another in less than 48 hours when it hosts the defending WNBA champions in an afternoon game at Mohegan Sun Arena (1, NESN Plus).

There were a lot of positives for the Sun during their 88-83 win over Seattle, first and foremost their defense. The latter shot a robust 48.4% on the night but Connecticut didn’t allow a point during the final 2 minutes, 55 seconds of the game.

The Sky (22-7) shot an outrageous 83.3% during the first half of their 91-83 home win over Connecticut on June 29. That set a league-record for best shooting percentage in a half.

Connecticut (20-9) also continued its post All-Star break offensive surge against Seattle. Its offense had gone in a slump during a six-game stretch prior to the break as it was last in scoring (73.3) and 10th out of 12 teams in field goal percentage (41.2%) in games played from June 19-July 9.

The Storm were tied for second in defensive field goal percentage (42.4) prior to playing the Sun. The latter shot 48.5% against them.

Connecticut is leading the league in field goal percentage (48.3%) and third in scoring (87.9 ppg) in games played since the All-Star break.

“I thought we shared the basketball tonight,” Miller said. “We had 22 assists on 32 baskets. We were efficient shooting nearly 50% most of the game. I think that bodes well. … And everyone contributed in big moments.”

Turnovers were the Sun’s most glaring issue in the win. They turned it over 17 times for 21 points.

Seven of Connecticut’s turnovers came in the final 7 minutes, 25 seconds of the game (for 9 points).

“Some of them were self-inflicted,” Miller said. “We’re fortunate because Seattle’s the number one team converting (points) off turnovers in the league and they crept up, even in the biggest moments.

“We’ve got to watch our turnovers (with) another dynamic team coming in Chicago.”

The Sky (22-7) lead the overall standings as the league’s top five teams are jockeying for playoff positioning.

The Las Vegas Aces are second (21-8), followed in order by Connecticut, Seattle (19-11) and the Washington Mystics (18-12). All have clinched a playoff berth.

The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs. Chicago beat the Sun in their first two meetings with a fourth to be played on Aug. 7.

Las Vegas holds the tiebreaker over the Sun by winning the season series.

Connecticut holds the tiebreaker over Seattle and Washington.

Chicago won at home Friday night, 89-81, over the New York Liberty. Courtney Vandersloot had a game-high 23 points and nine assists and didn’t turn it over. She also had six rebounds.

Candace Parker missed the game due to a non-COVID illness. Sky head coach James Wade told the Chicago Sun Times after the game that he didn’t know if she’d make the trip.

n.griffen@theday.com