Jonquel Jones Powers Sun Past Elena Delle Donne, Mystics in WNBA Finals Game 2

Jonquel Jones' record-breaking 32-point, 18-rebound performance led the Connecticut Sun to a 99-87 win over the Washington Mystics in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals on Tuesday at Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.

Per the ESPN broadcast, no one had ever posted a 30-point, 15-rebound game in WNBA Finals history prior to Tuesday. Jones also grabbed a Finals-record nine offensive rebounds.

The Mystics were forced to play without 2019 WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne for all of three minutes, as the superstar left with back spasms and did not return. Per Mechelle Voepel of ESPNW.com, Washington head coach Mike Thibault told reporters that Delle Donne will receive an MRI on Wednesday.

Her presence was clearly missed: Washington led 7-6 when Delle Donne left the game, and the Sun proceeded to outscore the hosts 23-10 for the remainder of the first quarter.

Connecticut outclassed Washington on the glass, out-rebounding the Mystics 41-27 and grabbing 17 offensive rebounds to Washington's six.

To their credit, however, the Mystics overcame the Sun's 56-point first-half—and a 14-point second-quarter deficit—to tie the game at 76 early in the fourth quarter. Emma Meesseman was particularly sensational in Delle Donne's place, posting a team-leading 23 points and eight boards.

But Jones was simply too much for any Mystic defender to handle en route to her game-leading plus-25 performance.

ESPN Stats & Info posted a remarkable first-half stat from Elias Sports:

That performance may not have been much of a surprise in retrospect, as Gene Wang of the Washington Post noted:

Washington's issue is that Jones can be dominant down low and stretch the floor, which was evident Tuesday:

Basketball analyst LaChina Robinson summed Jones' night up well, noting that performances like these could become more consistent:

Although Jones and Delle Donne were the stories of the night, Sun forward Alyssa Thomas' game shouldn't go overlooked.

Thomas played all 40 minutes and stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

She also happened to do all that with two torn labrums:

Thomas had 20 points, six rebounds and five steals in Game 1. She's also shot 64 percent from the field (16-of-25) for the series.

Courtney Williams, who led Connecticut with a team-high 26 points in Game 1, followed that up with 22 more Tuesday.

For Washington, Tianna Hawkins dropped 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting off the bench. Kristi Toliver added 13 points and a team-high seven assists.

The question now is whether Delle Donne will be available for Game 3.

The good news is that contest won't be until Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET, so Delle Donne will have nearly five full days of rest to get ready.

The ex-Delaware star averaged a team-leading 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds this season and dominated Connecticut in Game 1, posting 22 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks in a 95-86 win.

ABC will carry the Game 3 broadcast.

As for the Sun, Connecticut can win its first WNBA Finals without leaving home.

Games 3 and 4 will take place at Mohegan Sun Arena, where Connecticut is 17-2. The two losses were near-wins as well: The Sun lost 74-71 to the Minnesota Lynx and took the Chicago Sky to overtime before falling 109-104.

The winner of this series will also become the first Eastern Conference team to win the WNBA Finals since the Indiana Fever in 2012.