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Preview: Sun host Sparks to lead off last day of WNBA regular season

Every team is in action today, but only a handful of games can shake up the playoff seedings one last time — including this one.

By Christine M. Hopkins

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Jonquel Jones has stepped up big in the Sun’s final push toward the playoffs, most recently in the place of an injured Chiney Ogwumike.
NBAE/Getty Images

Three of the six games today are between playoff-bound teams, and this is one of them. Here’s how to start your all-day WNBA-watching marathon.

Los Angeles Sparks (19-14) at Connecticut Sun (20-13)

When: Sunday, August 19 at 3 p.m. ET

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena | TICKETS

How to watch: Twitter (worldwide streaming) | NBC Sports Boston (local market) | Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles-area TV)

Injuries: Chiney Ogwumike (knee) is questionable for the Sparks.

Storylines to follow

Last meeting: Sun 73, Sparks 72 (July 3)

After a fantastic start to the season that turned sour all too quickly, the Sun have a chance in their final game to solidify a four-seed in the playoffs with a win, guaranteeing them an important first-round bye. But considering how close the first two games of this series have been, Connecticut can’t take anything for granted, even as the Sparks have shown vulnerabilities lately.

While the Sun enter this game on a three-game win streak and having won eight of their last nine games, highlighted by a handful of Jonquel Jones 20-plus-point showings, the Sparks have lost three of their last four. Their sole win in that span came at home in an uncomfortably close matchup with the troubled Liberty.

That said, the Sparks know exactly how they have to come back from their last loss, which came on a buzzer-beater courtesy of the Mystics’ Natasha Cloud: they simply have to shoot better. Both teams in that game shot below 40 percent, and improving in this one area would ensure an easier time for Los Angeles if they can maintain a similar defensive effort.

This is also the third meeting of the season between the Ogwumike sisters, though Chiney was sidelined with a knee injury last game and may not play on Sunday. Chiney and the Sun have already locked up the 2-0 season series victory over Nneka and the Sparks — Chiney’s first career wins over her sister — but the sisters outscored each other by a single point in each game, so it could be fun to see which of them will personally prevail in this game, assuming Chiney is healthy.

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