Marc Allard mallard@norwichbulletin.com, (860) 425-4212 mallardnb

MOHEGAN The first word out of Curt Millers mouth was disappointed following Connecticuts 82-70 loss to New York on Friday.

But, in reality, the Sun coach thought it was the kind of game his team needed.

After winning six in a row and eight straight on their home floor, the Sun (18-10) were flying pretty high.

The Liberty brought them down to earth and also helped prep Connecticut for the next phase of the WNBA season the playoffs.

That game was so good for us. I cant begin to tell you how good that game will be for us in the long run. It took on a playoff feel. The physicality that we knew was going to be in this game, the intensity each and every possession of this game, simulated what we have to expect from a playoff game, Miller said.

The playoffs are on the horizon.

The Sun have just six games left in the regular season.

That final two-week stretch begins at 3 p.m. this afternoon at home against Phoenix, followed by home games on Wednesday against Dallas and Friday versus Chicago.

The final three games will take place on the road with the make up against Washington on Aug. 29, followed by a West Coast swing on Labor Day weekend to Phoenix on Sept. 1 and Los Angeles on Sept. 3.

The Sun can clinch the No. 6 spot in the WNBA standings with a win over Phoenix today. That would be important as it would give Connecticut a home game for the first round of the single-elimination portion of the playoffs.

So getting ready for a big game was important.

The Sun havent been in the playoffs since 2012 and no one on the current roster was in the locker room back then.

We needed to remember that its not going to be easy, Connecticut guard Jasmine Thomas said. Were not going to walk over people. The closer we get to the postseason and people still scrapping to get into the playoffs and solidify their spots, its going to be hard.

New York was a case in point.

The Liberty have hung around the .500 mark all season, but the win over the Sun was the fourth straight victory for New York (16-12) and moved them to within two games of the Sun, tied with Washington for the fourth spot.

We were trying to find our way, New York coach Bill Laimbeer said of the up-and-down start for the Liberty. A lot of players came late to training camp which hurt. We had some players go away. We lost Brittany Boyd (to injury), Epiphanny Prince and Kia Vaughn to the world championships for a month. Ive said from the very start that we wont know who we are until August and, now, were starting to know who we are.

For the Sun, it indicated the days of the 90-plus and 100-point games may be over, the grind may have started.

Miller called it a TNT game, dictated by toughness and tempo.

They were tougher and played with better tempo, Miller said. Their screening, their separation in offense while we held them to 40 percent shooting made us feel like we were scrambling the whole game. The toughness in the first half to pound the ball to Tina (Charles). I loved their tempo and toughness compared to us.

Miller said it also showed him how his team would handle adversity in a big game.

Charles scored 18 points in the second quarter and could have turned the game into an early blowout, the Sun rallied to trail by only three at the half.

We stuck together. We gradually made adjustments on the floor that were positive. We couldnt find any offensive rhythm to spark us. Give them credit for that, Miller said.

Its another test today.

The Mercury almost beat the Sun on Aug. 4, losing 93-92, at Mohegan Sun Arena and that was without Brittney Griner. The 6-foot-9 center will be in the lineup today.

Its extremely important to bounce back, Connecticut forward Alyssa Thomas said. We had a tough win last time and they werent full roster, BG will be back. We have to bounce back and not spiral (backwards) at this point of the season.

See more here:

Sun look to learn from Liberty loss - Norwich Bulletin