The Sun-Sparks TD Garden game was a monumental moment for women’s basketball

Photo by Brian Fluharty/NBAE via Getty Images

Powered by DiJonai Carrington, the Connecticut Sun defeated the LA Sparks in a thrilling finishing in front of a sold-out crowd in Boston.

History was made on a Tuesday night in Boston, as the first-ever WNBA game was played in TD Garden in front of a raucous, sold-out crowd. The Sun defeated the Sparks 69-61, but the final score seemed almost secondary to the moment itself, which felt larger than life.

The Sun trailed by four points with 4 minutes to play, but powered by DiJonai Carrington (19 points) they closed the game on a 14-2 run to pull out the win. 19,000 fans filled the stands for the first full-court professional basketball game since the Celtics beat the Mavericks to win the NBA championship in June.

The city of Boston hosted a block party ahead of the game, complete with signage, music, and a hoop bus with little kids getting shots up. Sun head coach Stephanie White acknowledged pregame that she had chills entering the world-famous arena for practice the day prior.

Jrue Holiday, a 2x Olympic gold medalist and 2x NBA champion, sat court-side along his wife, soccer legend Lauren Holiday, and two kids. Recent Celtics draft picks Anton Watson and Baylor Scheierman also cheered along the Sun. Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum came by toward the end of the game.

For the rebuilding Sparks, partaking in WNBA history was a privilege

At 6-22, the Sparks are tied with the Mystics for the league’s worst record, and are. Still, the team has been focused on building good habits and improving for the long-term, center Azura Stevens said before the game. The Sparks, who play at Crypto.com Arena, were thrilled to be a part of such a historic event.

Sparks guard Kia Nurse, who played at the University of Connecticut, said the increased exposure has been a long-time coming.

“Connecticut’s always been a really good team,” Nurse said. “It’s always been a really good organization, and tough to beat, so they deserve that great fanbase.”

Sparks head coach Curt Miller, who coached the Sun from 2016 to 2022, was happy to be back but in front of a much bigger crowd: “It’s just special for that franchise. And that franchise is special to me.”

For Miller and White — two longtime women’s basketball coaches — the recent success of the WNBA is the culmination of

“I said long before, if you can get people in the building, they’ll get hooked on our game,” Miller said. “If you get eyes on our game, they’ll get hooked on our game.”

“Just really happy for her, happy for AT,” Miller said. “And, I tell them all the time — I think it’s their year. And when I’m not coaching, I’m still the biggest fan of this franchise.”

At shootaround, Carrington’s excitement for the matchup was palpable, and she expressed her surprise that the arena was able to sell-out over 19,000 tickets.

“It really just shows how much this city loves sports,” Carrington said. “It doesn’t matter what sport, what gender — they’re going to show up and show out.”

Carrington showed out, finishing with 19 points, including several key baskets in the closing minutes.

“I know all y’all got to work tomorrow, so thank you for being here,” she said to a roaring crowd that stayed on its feet long after the final buzzer.