With Mystics’ Elena Delle Donne hurt, Sun even WNBA Finals

WASHINGTON — Shortly after locking up the Washington Mystics’ second consecutive trip to the WNBA Finals, Elena Delle Donne talked about being relieved going into the championship series healthy.

But on Tuesday, the Mystics once again had to make do in a WNBA playoff game without the two-time league MVP.

And now the WNBA Finals are tied 1-1, as the Connecticut Sun took advantage of Delle Donne’s absence for most of the night, winning Game 2 99-87 on Tuesday at the Entertainment and Sports Arena.

The 6-foot-5 Delle Donne, who was also MVP in 2015, played just 3 minutes, 28 seconds of the first quarter, and then left the court for good with back spasms, as reported by ESPN’s Holly Rowe. Mystics coach Mike Thibault said Delle Donne, who suffered a back injury while attempting her first shot, would undergo an MRI on her back on Wednesday. Game 3 is Sunday (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET).

“Didn’t look good,” Thibault said. “I didn’t look forward to having four days between games. But right now, that looks like a benefit that we didn’t have at the start of the series.”

All season — in fact, ever since she came to the Mystics in 2017 after pushing for a trade from Chicago — Delle Donne has talked up her teammates’ abilities.

Tuesday, they had a chance to put on their own show, and they did that pretty well. But Delle Donne and the much-improved defensive game she has developed during her time in Washington were missed Tuesday. Jonquel Jones, the Sun’s 6-6 forward/center, made the most of it, finishing with 32 points and 18 rebounds, the first 30-15 game in WNBA Finals history.

“We lose a lot at both ends without [Delle Donne],” Washington coach Mike Thibault told Rowe after three quarters. “She’s been the good matchup on Jonquel Jones. We’re having to fight that a little bit. But we have big heart. So we’re going to stay in the game and see if we can pull this out.”

The Mystics gave a great effort, even tying the score 76-76 on Kristi Toliver’s floater in the lane with 8:14 left in the game. But then the Sun went on a 6-0 run and were able to maintain their lead the rest of the way.

Delle Donne led the Mystics with 22 points in Sunday’s Game 1 95-86 victory. She spoke to the media Saturday and Monday and didn’t indicate she was having any physical issues. But she was limited in practice Monday, and appeared to tweak her back taking a shot early on in Game 2.

Injury and illness are the only things that have really slowed Delle Donne in her basketball career, even dating back to her dominant days in college at Delaware. She dealt with Lyme disease while with the Blue Hens, and the symptoms have sometimes flared up again in her pro career.

In 2014, Delle Donne helped lead Chicago on a playoff run, but she had back issues that greatly limited her in the WNBA Finals.

Last year, she suffered a bone bruise in her knee in Game 2 of the semifinal series against Atlanta. She missed Game 3, but returned for the fourth and fifth games, helping the Mystics reach their first WNBA Finals.

But once there, Delle Donne’s mobility was compromised, and the Seattle Storm were already the favorites. They swept the Mystics.

This season, she only missed three regular-season games: for lingering knee issues and a broken nose.

Now the Mystics will have to see if she can return by Sunday’s Game 3 in Connecticut.

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