2014 WNBA Finals
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| Dates | September 7–12 | |||||||||
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| MVP | Diana Taurasi (Phoenix) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Chicago defeated Indiana, 2–1 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Phoenix defeated Minnesota, 2–1 | |||||||||
The 2014 WNBA Finals was the playoff series for the 2014 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs.[1] The Phoenix Mercury, champions of the Western Conference, faced the Chicago Sky, champions of the Eastern Conference.
The WNBA Finals were under a 2–2–1 rotation. The Mercury held home-court advantage as they had a better regular season record (29–5) than the Sky (15–19). The Mercury swept the Sky in three games to win their third title in franchise history.
Both teams would meet again in the 2021 WNBA Finals, but this time the Sky emerged victorious in four games.
Background
2014 WNBA regular season
| # | Eastern Conference | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP | |
| 1 | y- Atlanta Dream | 19 | 15 | .559 | - | 34 |
| 2 | x- Indiana Fever | 16 | 18 | .471 | 3.0 | 34 |
| 3 | x-Washington Mystics | 16 | 18 | .471 | 3.0 | 34 |
| 4 | x-Chicago Sky | 15 | 19 | .441 | 4.0 | 34 |
| 5 | e-New York Liberty | 15 | 19 | .441 | 4.0 | 34 |
| 6 | e-Connecticut Sun | 13 | 21 | .382 | 6.0 | 34 |
| # | Western Conference | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP | |
| 1 | y-Phoenix Mercury | 29 | 5 | .853 | - | 34 |
| 2 | x-Minnesota Lynx | 25 | 9 | .735 | 4.0 | 34 |
| 3 | x-San Antonio Stars | 16 | 18 | .471 | 13.0 | 34 |
| 4 | x-Los Angeles Sparks | 16 | 18 | .471 | 13.0 | 34 |
| 5 | e-Tulsa Shock | 12 | 22 | .353 | 17.0 | 34 |
| 6 | e-Seattle Storm | 12 | 22 | .353 | 17.0 | 34 |
2014 WNBA playoffs
| Phoenix Mercury | Chicago Sky | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 29–5 (.853) 1st West, 1st overall |
Seeding | 15–19 (.441) 4th East, 8th overall | |
| Defeated the (4) Los Angeles Sparks, 2–0 | Conference Semifinals | Defeated the (1) Atlanta Dream, 2–1 | |
| Defeated the (2) Minnesota Lynx, 2–1 | Conference Finals | Defeated the (2) Indiana Fever, 2–1 | |
Chicago Sky
The Chicago Sky finished 15–19, good for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Sky defeated the Atlanta Dream in three games, setting up a conference final against the Indiana Fever. Chicago lost the first game of the series, but rallied to win two straight to reach the finals for the first time in franchise history.
Phoenix Mercury
The Phoenix Mercury finished with the best record in the WNBA, finishing with a 29–5 record. The Mercury swept the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Sparks in the conference semifinals, and defeated the Minnesota Lynx in the Western Conference Finals in three games.
Regular-season series
The Phoenix Mercury won the season series 2–0:
Series summary
- All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).
Game 1
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) | |
| Phoenix leads series, 1–0 | ||
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 13,263 Referees: #31 Amy Bonner #38 Lamont Simpson #42 Roy Gulbeyan |
Game 2
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) | |
| Phoenix leads series, 2–0 | ||
US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 13,348 Referees: #4 Sue Blauch #18 Kurt Walker #55 Eric Brewton |
Game 3
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 |
Rosters
| 2014 Phoenix Mercury roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2014 Chicago Sky roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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