Examining Phoenix's Playoff History With Los Angeles

The Phoenix Mercury were a part of the WNBA's inaugural season, and they were one of the eight teams that participated. Today, some of those teams are no longer in the league, but the Mercury are still going strong. One of the other teams from that time remains a conference rival, and they have met the Mercury in the playoffs. The Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks have history, and as far as the playoffs, these teams met back in 2000. Phoenix finished that season with a record of 20-12, and that led to a first-round matchup with Los Angeles. The Sparks won that series, as they beat the Mercury 2-0. They beat the Mercury 86-71 in the first game and 101-76 in the second. Los Angeles faced the Houston Comets in the next round, and Houston came out on top. The Comets beat the Sparks 2-0, and they faced the New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals. They beat the Liberty, and they won their fourth championship in a row. After losing to the Sparks, the Mercury went through a rebuilding period. They missed the playoffs