Thomas, Sun shine in WNBA semis opener
Alyssa Thomas had 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead a balanced Connecticut offense and the Sun opened the WNBA semifinals with an 84-75 win over the Los Angeles Sparks last night in Uncasville, Conn.
Jasmine Thomas scored 19 points, Jonquel Jones had 16 and Courtney Williams had 15 for the Sun, who won their first playoff game since 2012.
Candace Parker had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Nneka Ogwumike added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Sparks, who knocked off defending champion Seattle in the second round.
Connecticut trailed by three points at halftime, but scored the first nine points of the third quarter. A layup by Courtney Williams just before that quarter’s buzzer sent the Sun into the final 10 minutes up 59-58.
Connecticut never trailed in the fourth, outscoring the Sparks 25-17 over the final 10 minutes.
The Sun, who lost their final two regular-season games, had not played since Sept. 8 and came out slow, missing their first four shots. ...
The New York Liberty will have the No. 1 pick in next year’s WNBA draft for the first time in franchise history.
One of the original WNBA teams, the Liberty won the draft lottery last night. New York had the best odds of getting the No. 1 pick with a 44.2% chance.
Liverpool falls
Liverpool opened its Champions League title defense with a 2-0 loss at Napoli. Dries Mertens converted a penalty eight minutes from the end of an entertaining match after a contentious foul by Andy Robertson on Jose Callejon.
Substitute Fernando Llorente then sealed it in stoppage time with his first goal for Napoli — a measure of revenge after playing on the Tottenham side that lost last season’s final to Liverpool . . . .
Teenage striker Erling Braut Haaland introduced himself to the Champions League with a hat trick as host Salzburg hammered Genk 6-2.
The 19-year-old Norwegian gave Salzburg the lead in the second minute and added two more on counterattacks in the 34th and 45th. Haaland is the third-youngest player to score a Champions League hat trick after Raul in 1995 and Wayne Rooney in 2004 . . . .
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen saved a second-half penalty as the Spanish giant began its Champions League campaign by drawing 0-0 at Borussia Dortmund.
Lionel Messi came on as a substitute for the last 30 minutes for his first appearance of the season but was unable to spark the visitors’ struggling attack, with Dortmund creating the best chances of the game . . . .
Timo Werner scored twice in the second half as Leipzig stunned Portuguese champion Benfica 2-1 in the Champions League . . . .
Rodrigo gave Valencia a winning start to the Champions League, clinching a 1-0 victory at Chelsea.
Back in England where he played for Bolton at the start of the decade, the Brazilian forward was left unchecked to race onto Daniel Parejo’s free kick and volley into the net in the 74th minute.
Hemric loses ride
Richard Childress Racing has declined to pick up the option on rookie Daniel Hemric for next season.
Hemric is ranked 25th in the standings, did not make NASCAR’s playoffs and has just two top-10 finishes in 27 starts this season. The team said Hemric will finish the year in the No. 8 Chevrolet. RCR called Hemric “a very talented driver and an outstanding person.”
Tyler Reddick, the reigning Xfinity Series champion, is expected to be promoted to Hemric’s seat . . . .
Maximum Security, the colt who crossed the finish line first in the Kentucky Derby only to be disqualified for interference, won’t run in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby this weekend because of a colon issue.