2014 WNBA Playoffs

Last updated
2014 WNBA Playoffs
DatesAugust 21 – September 12, 2014
Final positions
Champions Phoenix Mercury (Finals Champion)
East champion Chicago Sky (Coach: Pokey Chatman)
West champion Phoenix Mercury (Coach: Sandy Brondello)
Tournament statistics
Attendance8,200 per game
←  2013
2015  →

The 2014 WNBA playoffs was the postseason for the 2014 WNBA season. Four teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs, seeded 1 to 4 in a tournament bracket, with the two opening rounds in a best-of-three format, and the final in a best-of-five format.

Contents

The Phoenix Mercury won the 2014 WNBA Finals, sweeping the Chicago Sky in three games. The Mercury defeated the Los Angeles Sparks in the conference semifinals before defeating the Minnesota Lynx in the Western Conference Finals. The Mercury lost only one game in the entire playoffs.

The Chicago Sky attempted to complete a cinderella run by upsetting the Atlanta Dream in the conference semifinals and by upsetting the Indiana Fever in the Eastern Conference Finals, both in three games. However, the Sky were unable to complete their historic playoff run, as the Mercury won their third WNBA championship title.

Tiebreak procedures

Two-team tie

  1. Better record in head-to-head games.
  2. Better winning percentage within own conference.
  3. Better winning percentage against all teams with .500 or better record at the end of the season.
  4. Better point differential in games head-to-head.
  5. Coin toss.

Three or more-team tie

  1. Better winning percentage among all head-to-head games involving tied teams.
  2. Better winning percentage against teams within conference (for first two rounds of playoffs) or better record against teams in the opposite conference (for Finals).
  3. Better winning percentage against all teams with a .500 or better record at the end of the season.
  4. Better point differential in games involving tied teams.
  5. Coin toss.

Playoff qualifying

Eastern Conference

SeedTeamRecordClinched
Playoff berthBest record
in Conference		Best record
in WNBA
1 Atlanta Dream 19–15August 2August 13—
2 Indiana Fever 16–18 [lower-alpha 1] August 14——
3 Washington Mystics 16–18 [lower-alpha 1] August 15——
4 Chicago Sky 15–19 [lower-alpha 2] August 15——

Western Conference

SeedTeamRecordClinched
Playoff berthBest record
in Conference		Best record
in WNBA
1 Phoenix Mercury 29–5July 22August 12August 12
2 Minnesota Lynx 25–9July 24——
3 San Antonio Stars 16–18 [lower-alpha 3] August 15——
4 Los Angeles Sparks 16–18 [lower-alpha 3] August 12——
Notes
  1. 1 2 Indiana Fever clinched #2 seed over Washington Mystics based on Eastern Conference winning percentage. (.545 vs .500)
  2. ↑ Chicago Sky clinched #4 seed over New York Liberty based on a 4–0 regular season series record.
  3. 1 2 San Antonio Stars clinched #3 seed over Los Angeles Sparks based on a 3–1 regular season series record.

Playoffs and finals

Conference semi-finals:
best-of-3 		Conference finals:
best-of-3 		WNBA finals:
best-of-5
         
E1 Atlanta 1
E4 Chicago 2
E4 Chicago 2
Eastern Conference
E2 Indiana 1
E2 Indiana 2
E3 Washington 0
E4 Chicago 0
W1 Phoenix 3
W1 Phoenix 2
W4 Los Angeles 0
W1 Phoenix 2
Western Conference
W2 Minnesota 1
W2 Minnesota 2
W3 San Antonio 0

Eastern Conference

Conference semifinals

(1) Atlanta Dream vs. (4) Chicago Sky

August 22
7:30pm ET
Chicago Sky 80, Atlanta Dream 77
Scoring by quarter: 18–23, 18–14, 21–21, 23–19
Pts: Delle Donne (21)
Rebs: Fowles (14)
Asts: Prince, Vandersloot (7)		Pts: McCoughtry (24)
Rebs: Lyttle (14)
Asts: Schimmel (6)
Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
Attendance: 5,985
Referees:
#11 Lauren Holtkamp
#21 Byron Jarrett
#38 Lamont Simpson
August 24
7:00pm ET
Atlanta Dream 92, Chicago Sky 83
Scoring by quarter:24–22, 20–21, 24–18, 24–22
Pts: McCoughtry (39)
Rebs: Lyttle, Thomas (7)
Asts: Thomas (6)		Pts: Delle Donne (22)
Rebs: Delle Donne, Fowles (6)
Asts: Vandersloot (8)
Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
Attendance: 4,546
Referees:
#4 Sue Blauch
#9 Denise Brooks
#42 Roy Gulbeyan
August 26
7:30pm ET
Chicago Sky 81, Atlanta Dream 80
Scoring by quarter: 17–30, 24–24, 10–13, 30–13
Pts: Delle Donne (34)
Rebs: Fowles (15)
Asts: Vandersloot, Young (5)		Pts: de Souza (18)
Rebs: Lyttle (13)
Asts: Schimmel (6)
Chicago won the series, 2–1
Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
Attendance: 4,829
Referees:
#31 Amy Bonner
#39 Michael Price
#55 Eric Brewton
Regular-season series

Chicago won the regular-season series 3–2:

(2) Indiana Fever vs. (3) Washington Mystics

August 21
7:00pm ET
Washington Mystics 73, Indiana Fever 78
Scoring by quarter: 13–22, 23–8, 14–17, 23–31
Pts: Latta (22)
Rebs: Vaughn (8)
Asts: Latta (5)		Pts: Catchings (22)
Rebs: Larkins (11)
Asts: Catchings, Christmas, January, Zellous (2)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 5,576
Referees:
#8 Daryl Humphrey
#9 Denise Brooks
#45 Tom Mauer
August 23
5:00pm ET
Indiana Fever 81, Washington Mystics 76 (OT)
Scoring by quarter:16–12, 14–15, 21–26, 15–13,  Overtime:15–10
Pts: Catchings (26)
Rebs: Catchings, Larkins (11)
Asts: January (7)		Pts: Lawson (20)
Rebs: Meesseman (10)
Asts: Hartley (5)
Indiana won the series, 2–0
Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 6,124
Referees:
#13 Cameron Inouye
#24 Tony Dawkins
#55 Eric Brewton
Regular-season series

The regular season series was tied 2–2:

Conference finals

(2) Indiana Fever vs. (4) Chicago Sky

August 30
7:00pm ET
Chicago Sky 70, Indiana Fever 77
Scoring by quarter: 18–21, 15–21, 15–1 8, 22–17
Pts: Fowles (20)
Rebs: Fowles (14)
Asts: Vandersloot (4)		Pts: January (19)
Rebs: Larkins (8)
Asts: Catchings (4)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 7,557
Referees:
#9 Denise Brooks
#34 Maj Forsberg
#42 Roy Gulbeyan
September 1
4:00pm ET
Indiana Fever 84, Chicago Sky 86 (2OT)
Scoring by quarter:18–16, 21–15, 13–17, 19–23,  Overtime: 8–8, 5–7
Pts: Zellous (20)
Rebs: Catchings (14)
Asts: January (6)		Pts: Fowles (27)
Rebs: Young (9)
Asts: Prince, Quigley, Vandersloot (5)
Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
Attendance: 6,019
Referees:
#11 Lauren Holtkamp
#13 Cameron Inouye
#18 Kurt Walker
September 3
7:00pm ET
Chicago Sky 75, Indiana Fever 62
Scoring by quarter:15–11, 22–18, 15–16, 23–17
Pts: Quigley (24)
Rebs: Fowles (7)
Asts: Vandersloot (9)		Pts: Zellous (16)
Rebs: Larkins (11)
Asts: Catchings, January (3)
Chicago won the series, 2–1
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 7,705
Referees:
#4 Sue Blauch
#45 Tom Mauer
#55 Eric Brewton
Regular-season series

Indiana won the regular season series 3–2:

Western Conference

Conference semifinals

(1) Phoenix Mercury vs. (4) Los Angeles Sparks

August 22
10:00pm ET
Los Angeles Sparks 72, Phoenix Mercury 75
Scoring by quarter: 12–13, 22–22, 19–21, 19–19
Pts: Parker (22)
Rebs: Lavender, Parker (7)
Asts: Parker, Toliver (4)		Pts: Taurasi (34)
Rebs: Dupree, Griner (7)
Asts: Taylor (7)
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 11,591
Referees:
#4 Sue Blauch
#30 Thomas Nunez
#35 Billy Smith
August 24
9:00pm ET
Phoenix Mercury 93, Los Angeles Sparks 68
Scoring by quarter:30–14, 22–19, 23–18, 18–17
Pts: Griner (21)
Rebs: Dupree (8)
Asts: Phillips, Taurasi (7)		Pts: Parker (21)
Rebs: Ogwumike (6)
Asts: Toliver (9)
Phoenix won the series, 2–0
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Attendance: 7,449
Referees:
#34 Maj Forsberg
#39 Michael Price
#62 Jeff Wooten
Regular-season series

Phoenix won the regular-season series 5–0:

(2) Minnesota Lynx vs. (3) San Antonio Stars

August 21
9:00pm ET
San Antonio Stars 84, Minnesota Lynx 88
Scoring by quarter: 16–24, 14–16, 23–25, 31–23
Pts: McBride (20)
Rebs: Adams (10)
Asts: Robinson (6)		Pts: Moore (26)
Rebs: Brunson, Whalen (7)
Asts: Whalen (11)
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 8,523
Referees:
#34 Maj Forsberg
#39 Michael Price
#53 Jeff Smith
August 23
7:00pm ET
Minnesota Lynx 94, San Antonio Stars 89
Scoring by quarter: 12–28, 28–16, 27–20, 27–25
Pts: Whalen (31)
Rebs: Moore (8)
Asts: Moore (10)		Pts: McBride (25)
Rebs: Appel (8)
Asts: Robinson (6)
Minnesota won the series, 2–0
AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
Attendance: 7,085
Referees:
#8 Daryl Humphrey
#18 Kurt Walker
#31 Amy Bonner
Regular-season series

Minnesota won the regular-season series 4–1:

Conference finals

(1) Phoenix Mercury vs. (2) Minnesota Lynx

August 29
10:00pm ET
Minnesota Lynx 71, Phoenix Mercury 85
Scoring by quarter: 20–23, 11–19, 16–25, 24–18
Pts: Whalen (25)
Rebs: Brunson (8)
Asts: Brunson, Moore (3)		Pts: Griner (23)
Rebs: Taylor (13)
Asts: Taylor (7)
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 10,376
Referees:
#4 Sue Blauch
#39 Michael Price
#45 Tom Mauer
ABC
August 31
3:30pm ET
Phoenix Mercury 77, Minnesota Lynx 82
Scoring by quarter:22–9, 22–27, 18–20, 15–26
Pts: Taurasi (23)
Rebs: Dupree (9)
Asts: Taurasi (5)		Pts: Moore (32)
Rebs: Brunson (10)
Asts: Whalen (7)
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 10,513
Referees:
#31 Amy Bonner
#38 Lamont Simpson
#55 Eric Brewton
September 2
10:00pm ET
Minnesota Lynx 78, Phoenix Mercury 96
Scoring by quarter: 21–28, 21–22, 25–22, 11–24
Pts: Augustus (21)
Rebs: Brunson (8)
Asts: Whalen (6)		Pts: Taurasi (22)
Rebs: Bonner (7)
Asts: Taurasi (7)
Phoenix won the series, 2–1
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 9,749
Referees:
#9 Denise Brooks
#39 Michael Price
#42 Roy Gulbeyan
Regular-season series

Phoenix won the regular-season series 3–1:

WNBA Finals

Phoenix Mercury vs. Chicago Sky

ABC
September 7
3:30pm ET
Chicago Sky 62, Phoenix Mercury 83
Scoring by quarter: 8–15, 12–27, 14–14, 28–27
Pts: Fowles (19)
Rebs: Fowles (11)
Asts: Vandersloot (5)		Pts: Dupree (26)
Rebs: Griner (7)
Asts: Taurasi (11)
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 13,263
Referees:
#31 Amy Bonner
#38 Lamont Simpson
#42 Roy Gulbeyan
September 9
9:00pm ET
Chicago Sky 68, Phoenix Mercury 97
Scoring by quarter: 14–21, 22–30, 15–23, 17–23
Pts: Delle Donne (22)
Rebs: Fowles (5)
Asts: Vandersloot (4)		Pts: Griner (19)
Rebs: Taylor (8)
Asts: Taylor (6)
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 13,348
Referees:
#4 Sue Blauch
#18 Kurt Walker
#55 Eric Brewton
September 12
8:00pm ET
Phoenix Mercury 87, Chicago Sky 82
Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 23–21, 16–20, 26–19
Pts: Dupree, Taurasi (24)
Rebs: Bonner (9)
Asts: Dupree (6)		Pts: Delle Donne (23)
Rebs: Fowles (8)
Asts: Vandersloot (11)
Phoenix wins series, 3–0
UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL
Attendance: 7,365
Referees:
#9 Denise Brooks
#34 Maj Forsberg
#39 Michael Price
Regular-season series

Phoenix won the regular-season series 2–0:

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