Their latest win got the Los Angeles Sparks a little more attention than they wanted. As a result, they'll be missing some players as they try for their next victory.

Following an ugly brawl in their last game that resulted in five Sparks being suspended, Los Angeles visits the Connecticut Sun on Thursday.

Los Angeles (14-10) won 84-81 at Detroit on Tuesday after dropping four of its previous five games - a victory overshadowed by a wild fracas with 4.6 seconds remaining.

Moments after Los Angeles rookie Candace Parker and Detroit's Cheryl Ford had to be separated after Ford fouled Parker, Parker got tangled up with Detroit's Plenette Pierson and fell to the ground. As she was getting up, Pierson intentionally ran into Parker, setting off the melee.

Pierson and Shock assistant coach Rick Mahorn were ejected, along with Parker and teammate DeLisha Milton-Jones. Mahorn appeared to push Sparks star Lisa Leslie to the court, though he claims he was simply trying to break up the skirmish.

On Thursday, the WNBA suspended Shannon Bobbitt and Murriel Page of the Sparks for two games, and Leslie, Parker and Milton-Jones for one. Five Shock players and Mahorn were suspended.

"This was a game we needed badly, and we won it," said Milton-Jones, who scored 19 points. "That's the important part, despite what happened at the end."

To allow the Sparks to have at least eight players in uniform for each game, the players will have their suspensions staggered.

"The WNBA and its players represent all that is good about sports: passion, hard work and sacrifice,'' WNBA president Donna Orender said in a statement released by the league. "On a nightly basis our players display extraordinary skill, athleticism and competitive fire. The events Tuesday, however, were inexcusable and in no way indicative of what the league stands for. We hold our players to a very high standard and these suspensions should serve notice that the behavior exhibited at the end of Tuesday's game will not be tolerated.''

Parker, who leads WNBA rookies with 18.9 points per game, had 21 on Tuesday as the Sparks won for the first time in six road games.

Los Angeles is in third place in the Western Conference, two games behind San Antonio and Seattle, who are tied for first.

The Sun (14-10) ended a five-game losing streak Sunday, beating Chicago 74-67. Asjha Jones had 23 points and 10 rebound and Lindsay Whalen chipped in 20 points for Connecticut, which has won seven of nine at home.

"All four quarters we held them under 20 points, we outrebounded them (38-32) and we kept our turnovers down (11)," coach Mike Thibault said. "It's a good start to getting back to some normalcy."

Los Angeles beat Connecticut 98-93 in overtime in the teams' first meeting this season. Leslie led the Sparks with 22 points, while Whalen scored 20 for the Sun.