Derek Fisher did not have himself a good Sunday night.

The five-time NBA champion and first-year Los Angeles Sparks coach watched as his team was once again dominated by the Connecticut Sun and swept out of the playoffs in the semifinals after a 78-56 loss in game 3.

The No. 2 Sun had a phenomenal year and were riding extra motivation into this series, but Fisher made some eye-raising decisions that only added to questions about why general manager Penny Toler hired him at all. The guiding thesis of this series was the No. 3 Sparks would be buoyed by their experience while inexperience might sink the Sun.

When the Sparks needed experience the most in an elimination game Sunday night in front of the home fans, Fisher benched two-time league MVP and 2016 WNBA champion Candace Parker in an odd move that will lead the conversation into the offseason.

Parker spends most of game 3 on the bench

Parker, 33, scored a basket and assisted on another to give the Sparks a very early 4-2 lead, but made two bad passes that resulted in steals and points for the Sun.

Fisher benched her for three minutes late in the first, bringing in Chiney Ogumwike as the tie moved to a 11-6 Sun lead. The Sparks came within three points when she returned, though she then missed free throws and a put-back to tie the game. Behind only 14-11, she was benched to start the second and sat the entire quarter.

Parker came back to start the third trailing by eight, 40-32, and played four minutes during which she had an assist and missed 5-foot jumper. Ogumwike again came in for her, the Sparks down 51-36 with 5:54 left in the quarter, and Parker’s night was over. She was caught by cameras asking “Why would he do that right now” after coming to the bench.

She had four points on 2-of-6 shooting, missed two free throws and had three rebounds and two assists.

Parker: ‘That’s for Fish’

Parker completed her 12th WNBA season and throughout the game, there was at least a possibility the veteran was on the bench due to her own requests or an injury issue. A leader knows when taking herself out of a game is in the benefit of the team.

The post-game interviews are an indication that’s not the case.

“That’s for Fish(er) [to answer],” Parker said when asked if she was surprised at her lack of minutes.

Candace Parker said she's physically and mentally okay and told reporters to ask Derek Fisher why she only played 11 minutes and 14 seconds on the Sparks 22 point elimination loss to the Connecticut Sun 78-56. #Winsidr #WNBAPlayoffs #LASparks pic.twitter.com/IMnD6vaSdZ — John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) September 23, 2019

Parker, drafted out of the University of Tennessee in 2008, is nearing the end of her career. It’s fair to ask how near now.

Fisher answers why Parker sat

Fisher’s explanation to the media after the game didn’t really answer anything. He compared Parker’s 11 minutes to her teammates’ marks to argue that it was about doing anything to get energy.

Derek Fisher’s explanation for Candace Parker’s limited minutes pic.twitter.com/IOcrT01j8v — Brady Klopfer (@BradyKlopferNBA) September 23, 2019

Fisher told the media:

“I was just trying to do as much as I could in the moment to help the team. We talked before the game ... It wasn’t an injury or anything specific as to why I wasn’t going to play Candace. I was just trying to find energy, find spark, find physicality and things we were continuing to try to search for throughout the course of the game. We’ve had an issue sustaining energy over 40 minutes against this team in this series. [It was] also just getting fresh bodies in so we could continue to bang and rebound and run the floor, communicate defensively. “It wasn’t any way to single her out ... It was about doing something different that I thought could help us win.”

Chelsea Gray, one of the league’s best point guards, played a team-high 29 minutes, despite a tough match-up against Jasmine Thomas’ defense, and went 3-of-13 for seven points with four assists. Nneka Ogumwike led the team with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting and six rebounds over 27 minutes.

Riquna Williams (0-of-5, 4 rebounds, 1 point) played 18 minutes and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (2-of-5, 3 rebounds, four points) played 13 minutes.

Chiney Ogumwike had 20 minutes off the bench and went 1-for-4 with two rebounds, one assist, two steals.