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

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 and teeming with historical significance.

The Sun trailed by four points with 4 minutes to play, but DiJonai Carrington (19 points) and Brionna Jones (15 points, 7 rebounds) helped Connecticut closed the game on a 14-2 run to pull out the win. More than 19,000 fans filled the stands for the first full-court professional basketball game in TD Garden 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 that was teeming 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 two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time NBA champion, sat court-side alongside his wife, soccer legend Lauren Holiday, and two kids. Recent Celtics draft picks Anton Watson and Baylor Scheierman also cheered for Connecticut, as did Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum, who came by toward the end of the game

Alyssa Thomas finished the game with 16 rebounds, 9 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals. Her and-one layup with 3:21 to play gave the Sun a one-point lead — they never trailed again.

At 6-22, the Sparks are now tied with the Mystics for the league’s worst record. Still, the team has stayed positive, focusing 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, said they 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 for the franchise 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 years of progress.

“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. 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 6 points in the final five minutes. She greeted the roaring TD Garden crowd after the victory was complete.

“I know all y’all got to work tomorrow, so thank you for being here.”

The common theme postgame was that no one wanted this to be the last time a WNBA game is played in Boston.

“To have to have an atmosphere like this and play in front of a crowd like this, I think it’s incredible,” White said postgame. “It speaks to our continued growth as a league. It speaks to the women’s basketball fans here in the New England area, and New England area sports fans in general. They’re passionate about their sports. I’m really thankful that our team and our players — they deserve this, and they got an opportunity to experience it.”