Connecticut Sun force defending WNBA champion Chicago Sky to winner-take-all Game 5 in semifinal ...

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- It might not have been in their preferred "messy" style of play, but the No. 3 seed Connecticut Sun imposed their will on the 2-seed Chicago Sky with a wire-to-wire 104-80 victory on Tuesday, staving off elimination and forcing a winner-take-all Game 5 with a spot in the WNBA Finals on the line.

The showdown will take place back in Chicago on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2), with the winner facing the top-seededLas Vegas Aces in the Finals starting Sunday.

The Sun's 24-point margin of victory marked the largest win in WNBA history to force a Game 5, according to ESPN Stats & Information research, and the third such win of at least 20 points. Each of the two previous teams to do that went on to win the decisive game.

The Sky are hoping to become the first team to repeat as WNBA champions since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002, while the Sun -- who have played in four consecutive semifinals -- could return to the Finals for the first time since 2019. Connecticut is seeking its first WNBA title.

After shooting 38% from the paint in Game 3, Connecticut shed its previous issues on that front, breaking a WNBA playoff record for points in the paint with 66.

"Big response by our team and the starting group that really set the tone early with the aggressiveness at both ends of the floor," Sun coach Curt Miller said. "We've talked this entire time how this is going to be a points-in-the-paint series for us, and that was an impressive performance of points in the paint. And I guess so much for messy; that wasn't messy.

"Incredible heart, determination by our players to do what they're capable of. That's all them tonight. Just heart and effort and incredible focus throughout the entire game."

The Sun jumped ahead by 16 points early in the first quarter -- their largest lead of the series at that point -- and though the Sky pulled within seven in the second, Connecticut used a late surge, capped by a DiJonai Carrington steal and score, to go into the break up 58-41. The Sun never looked back from that, leading by as many as 27.

"We couldn't match what they gave early on, and it put us on our heels," Sky coach James Wade said. "So we were playing catch-up, and it kind of scattered us a little bit."

The Sun had the momentum for most of the contest, with buzzer-beaters at the end of the half and third quarter further electrifying the Mohegan Sun Arena crowd and the Sun's bench.

"Sometimes when you get in the playoffs, you get so uptight. You just get outside of yourself because it's a different type of urgency," the Sun's Courtney Williams said. "But we play our best basketball when we're having fun, we're jumping around, we're cheering each other on. That's when we play our best basketball, and I think that's what you saw tonight."

In addition to scoring 23 points off 15 Chicago turnovers, Connecticut's offense looked as strong as it has all season, with six of its players (including three starters) finishing in double figures and its off-ball movement looking as smooth as ever. After Miller had been asking for more efficient play from his guards all series, DeWanna Bonner (7 for 13 shooting) and Williams (9 for 14) stepped up big with 19 points apiece, with Williams scoring a 2022 postseason high.

"I thought Courtney Williams really set the tone with off-ball movement," Miller said. "We talked about what's the balance, is there action on the backside in how much they're trying to congest the paint, and that movement really helped us tonight."

As Chicago's Allie Quigleyadded in reference to the team's defensive struggles, "Too many details that we missed. We weren't doing what we were supposed to do ... too many moments when we just weren't there and weren't ready. We just weren't focused."

The Sky have responded well to elimination games this season, surviving two in the first round against the New York Liberty to move on to the semifinals. But they'll need better energy defensively and execution offensively to take care of business at home on Thursday.

"[We need to] stay together and just have that mentality that we're not going to lose, we're going to do everything we can to win," Quigley said. "We're going to be more focused on the details and just have more energy than them."