# 2000 WNBA playoffs

The 2000 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2000 season which ended with the Western Conference champion Houston Comets beating the Eastern Conference champion New York Liberty, 2-0. Cynthia Cooper was named the MVP of the Finals.

## Regular season standings

Eastern Conference
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
| New York Liberty $^x$ | 20 | 12 | .625 | 14–7 | – |
| Cleveland Rockers $^x$ | 17 | 15 | .531 | 13–8 | 3.0 |
| Orlando Miracle $^x$ | 16 | 16 | .500 | 13–8 | 4.0 |
| Washington Mystics $^x$ | 14 | 18 | .438 | 13–8 | 6.0 |
| Detroit Shock $^o$ | 14 | 18 | .438 | 10–11 | 6.0 |
| Miami Sol $^o$ | 13 | 19 | .406 | 9–12 | 7.0 |
| Indiana Fever $^o$ | 9 | 23 | .281 | 7–14 | 11.0 |
| Charlotte Sting $^o$ | 8 | 24 | .250 | 5–16 | 12.0 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
| Los Angeles Sparks $^x$ | 28 | 4 | .875 | 17–4 | – |
| Houston Comets $^x$ | 27 | 5 | .844 | 17–4 | 1.0 |
| Sacramento Monarchs $^x$ | 21 | 11 | .656 | 13–8 | 7.0 |
| Phoenix Mercury $^x$ | 20 | 12 | .625 | 11–10 | 8.0 |
| Utah Starzz $^o$ | 18 | 14 | .563 | 13–8 | 10.0 |
| Minnesota Lynx $^o$ | 15 | 17 | .469 | 5–16 | 13.0 |
| Portland Fire $^o$ | 10 | 22 | .313 | 4–17 | 18.0 |
| Seattle Storm $^o$ | 6 | 26 | .188 | 4–17 | 22.0 |
Note: Teams with an "X" clinched playoff spots.

## Playoffs
### Bracket

There were 16 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.
| Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3 | Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3 | Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3 | Conference Finals Best-of-3 | Conference Finals Best-of-3 | Conference Finals Best-of-3 | WNBA Finals Best-of-3 | WNBA Finals Best-of-3 | WNBA Finals Best-of-3 |
| E1 | New York | 2 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Washington | 0 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Washington | 0 | E1 | New York | 2 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | New York | 2 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Cleveland | 1 | | | |
| E2 | Cleveland | 2 | E2 | Cleveland | 1 | | | |
| E3 | Orlando | 1 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Orlando | 1 | | | | E1 | New York | 0 |
| | | | | | | W2 | Houston | 2 |
| W1 | Los Angeles | 2 | | | | | | | W2 | Houston | 2 |
| W4 | Phoenix | 0 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Phoenix | 0 | W1 | Los Angeles | 0 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | Los Angeles | 0 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W2 | Houston | 2 | | | |
| W2 | Houston | 2 | W2 | Houston | 2 | | | |
| W3 | Sacramento | 0 | | | | | | |
* Bold – Series winner
* Italics – Team with home-court advantage

### Conference Semi=Finals
#### Cleveland Rockers vs. Orlando Miracle

* August 11
* Recap
Cleveland Rockers 55, Orlando Miracle 62 :
| Scoring by half: 29–28, 26–34 |||
| Pts: Merlakia Jones 18 Rebs: Brown, Jones 6 each Asts: Rushia Brown 4 | Pts: Taj McWilliams 16 Rebs: Taj McWilliams 10 Asts: Shannon Johnson 5 |
| Orlando leads series, 1–0 |||
* TD Waterhouse Centre, Orlando, Florida Attendance: 6,265 Referees: Sally Bell, Michael Henderson, Barb Smith
* August 13
* Recap
Orlando Miracle 54, Cleveland Rockers 63 :
| Scoring by half: 15–36, 39–27 |||
| Pts: Adrienne Johnson 17 Rebs: Shannon Johnson 9 Asts: Shannon Johnson 7 | Pts: Jones, Darling 15 each Rebs: Chasity Melvin 10 Asts: Suzie McConnell-Serio 6 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 9,755 Referees: Patty Broderick, Patrick Fraher, Gary Zielinski
* August 15
* Recap
Orlando Miracle 43, Cleveland Rockers 72 :
| Scoring by half: 21–32, 22–40 |||
| Pts: Nykesha Sales 13 Rebs: Taj McWilliams 8 Asts: Dos Santos, McWilliams, S. Johnson, A. Johnson 2 each | Pts: Ann Wauters 12 Rebs: Merlakia Jones 7 Asts: Suzie McConnell-Serio 7 |
| Cleveland wins series, 2–1 |||
* Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 9,528 Referees: June Courteau, Bob Trammell, Dennis DeMayo

#### New York Liberty vs. Washington Mystics

* August 12
* Recap
New York Liberty 72, Washington Mystics 63 :
| Scoring by half: 40–28, 32–35 |||
| Pts: Johnson, Phillips 20 each Rebs: Vickie Johnson 8 Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 9 | Pts: Vicky Bullett 22 Rebs: Holdsclaw, Bullett 8 each Asts: Nikki McCray 11 |
| New York leads series, 1–0 |||
* MCI Center, Washington, D.C. Attendance: 16,331 Referees: Melissa Barlow, Lisa Mattingly, Bob Trammell
* August 14
* Recap
Washington Mystics 57, New York Liberty 78 :
| Scoring by half: 25–40, 32–38 |||
| Pts: Holdsclaw, Aldridge 12 each Rebs: Markita Aldridge 4 Asts: Markita Aldridge 5 | Pts: Becky Hammon 19 Rebs: Tari Phillips 10 Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 10 |
| New York wins series, 2–0 |||
* Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 15,309 Referees: Dennis DeMayo, Courtney Kirkland, Mark Ayotte

#### Los Angeles Sparks vs. Phoenix Mercury

* August 11
* Recap
Los Angeles Sparks 86, Phoenix Mercury 71 :
| Scoring by half: 43–24, 43–47 |||
| Pts: Lisa Leslie 20 Rebs: Lisa Leslie 11 Asts: Tamecka Dixon 5 | Pts: Brandy Reed 17 Rebs: Lisa Harrison 9 Asts: Brandy Reed 6 |
| Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 |||
* America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona Attendance: 6,167 Referees: Jason Phillips, Bill Stokes, Bonita Spence
* August 13
* Recap
Phoenix Mercury 76, Los Angeles Sparks 101 :
| Scoring by half: 36–42, 40–59 |||
| Pts: Harrison, Gillom 16 each Rebs: Michelle Griffiths 6 Asts: Lisa Harrison 5 | Pts: Lisa Leslie 29 Rebs: Leslie, Mabika 8 each Asts: Tamecka Dixon 7 |
| Los Angeles wins series, 2–0 |||
* Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 9,811 Referees: Michael Price, Teresa Dahlem, Roy Gulbeyan

#### Houston Comets vs. Sacramento Monarchs

* August 12
* Recap
Houston Comets 72, Sacramento Monarchs 64 :
| Scoring by half: 35–37, 37–27 |||
| Pts: Cynthia Cooper 25 Rebs: Tiffani Johnson 8 Asts: Thompson, Cooper 3 each | Pts: Ruthie Bolton-Holifield 16 Rebs: Yolanda Griffith 14 Asts: Kedra Holland-Corn 5 |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 |||
* Arco Arena, Sacramento, California Attendance: 8,053 Referees: Matthew Boland, June Courteau, Lamont Simpson
* August 14
* Recap
Sacramento Monarchs 70, Houston Comets 75 :
| Scoring by half: 37–38, 33–37 |||
| Pts: Ruthie Bolton-Holifield 23 Rebs: Yolanda Griffith 10 Asts: Ticha Penicheiro 10 | Pts: Sheryl Swoopes 27 Rebs: Tina Thompson 14 Asts: Sheryl Swoopes 6 |
| Houston wins series, 2–0 |||
* Compaq Center, Houston, Texas Attendance: 11,664 Referees: Sally Bell, Derek Collins, Barb Smith

### Conference Finals
#### New York Liberty vs. Cleveland Rockers

* August 17
* Recap
New York Liberty 43, Cleveland Rockers 56 :
| Scoring by half: 21–29, 22–27 |||
| Pts: Tari Phillips 11 Rebs: Tari Phillips 6 Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 3 | Pts: Rushia Brown 18 Rebs: Chasity Melvin 9 Asts: Suzie McConnell-Serio 5 |
| Cleveland leads series, 1–0 |||
* Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 11,686 Referees: Lisa Mattingly, Derek Collins, Michael Price
* August 20
* Recap
Cleveland Rockers 45, New York Liberty 51 :
| Scoring by half: 17–36, 28–15 |||
| Pts: Merlakia Jones 18 Rebs: Merlakia Jones 12 Asts: Helen Darling 3 | Pts: Becky Hammon 13 Rebs: Tari Phillips 6 Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 9 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 15,865 Referees: Sally Bell, Courtney Kirkland, Gary Zielinski
* August 21
* Recap
Cleveland Rockers 67, New York Liberty 81 :
| Scoring by half: 27–46, 40–35 |||
| Pts: Jones, McConnell-Serio 13 each Rebs: Chasity Melvin 9 Asts: Helen Darling 4 | Pts: Tamika Whitmore 19 Rebs: Sue Wicks 6 Asts: Vickie Johnson 10 |
| New York wins series, 2–1 |||
* Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 15,173 Referees: Patty Broderick, Bill Stokes, Jason Phillips

#### Los Angeles Sparks vs. Houston Comets

* August 17
* Recap
Los Angeles Sparks 56, Houston Comets 77 :
| Scoring by half: 23–40, 33–37 |||
| Pts: Mwadi Mabika 21 Rebs: Lisa Leslie 8 Asts: Milton, Figgs 4 each | Pts: Sheryl Swoopes 22 Rebs: Arcain, Swoopes 6 each Asts: Thompson, Arcain 3 each |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 |||
* Compaq Center, Houston, Texas Attendance: 14,597 Referees: Patty Broderick, Melissa Barlow, Jason Phillips
* August 20
* Recap
Houston Comets 74, Los Angeles Sparks 69 :
| Scoring by half: 40–35, 34–34 |||
| Pts: Cynthia Cooper 29 Rebs: Tina Thompson 6 Asts: Sheryl Swoopes 6 | Pts: Mwadi Mabika 19 Rebs: Lisa Leslie 14 Asts: Leslie, Figgs 5 each |
| Houston wins series, 2–0 |||
* Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 13,884 Referees: Dennis DeMayo, Teresa Dahlem, Patrick Fraher

## WNBA Championship

* August 24
* Recap
Houston Comets 59, New York Liberty 52 :
| Scoring by half: 29–22, 30–30 |||
| Pts: Cynthia Cooper 20 Rebs: Swoopes, Thompson 8 each Asts: Cynthia Cooper 5 | Pts: Tari Phillips 24 Rebs: Tari Phillips 15 Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 5 |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 |||
* Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 19,563 Referees: Gary Zielinski, Sally Bell, Dennis DeMayo
* August 26
* Recap
New York Liberty 73, Houston Comets 79 (OT) :
| Scoring by half: 25–27, 39–37 Overtime: 9–15 |||
| Pts: Tari Phillips 20 Rebs: Tari Phillips 7 Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 8 | Pts: Sheryl Swoopes 31 Rebs: Tina Thompson 8 Asts: Cynthia Cooper 7 |
| Houston wins series, 2–0 |||
* Compaq Center, Houston, Texas Attendance: 16,285 Referees: June Courteau, Michael Price, Courtney Kirkland