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© St. Petersburg Times, published August 14, 2002
ORLANDO -- Despite the desperation of its name, all the Orlando Miracle needed to get the final spot in the WNBA playoffs Tuesday was a win and a little help.
The Miracle covered its end, upsetting the New York Liberty 70-63, but its postseason hopes had ended a half-hour earlier when the Indiana Fever eliminated Orlando with a win against Cleveland.
"The toughest thing is to depend on someone else to do your job," said first-year coach Dee Brown, who saw the Miracle miss the playoffs for the third time in the team's four seasons. "We did our job the last two nights, and I am very proud of my ladies. I'm disappointed for them, obviously. We put ourselves in this situation, though, so we can look at ourselves and know we could have won a couple of close games along the road."
In their first season for the former Celtics guard, the Miracle matched the franchise's best record with a 16-16 record. That's the same record as Indiana, but the Fever earned the East's fourth playoff berth because it won the season series with Orlando 2-1. Orlando finished the season two games out of first place and out of the playoffs.
"That's just the way the East was this year," said Brown, who found out about Indiana's victory midway through the second half. The score was not announced to the TD Waterhouse Centre crowd, but players found out during the game.
Tuesday's win finished a three-game sweep of the regular-season East champion Liberty, but the victory was overshadowed by the thought of what could have been.
"We won, but it felt like we lost, because we didn't accomplish what we wanted," said forward Nykesha Sales, who had 10 points and a team-high 8 rebounds and 3 steals. "It's very frustrating, but we have to keep our heads up.
"I think this is a step in the right direction for the most part."
Orlando trailed 9-2 early before building a double-digit lead on 12 first-half points from guard Shannon Johnson, who finished with a team-high 14. A crowd of 8,135, the team's fourth-largest this season, saw the team end its season.
INDIANA 60, CLEVELAND 56: Kelly Schumacher helped put the visiting Fever into the playoffs, scoring a career-high 15 in her first start of the season.
CHARLOTTE 67, WASHINGTON 57: Allison Feaster scored 20 as the host Sting gained homecourt advantage in its first-round playoff series against the Mystics.
MIAMI 61, DETROIT 56: Betty Lennox scored 20 and Sheri Sam added 14 as the host Sol missed the playoffs but closed their season with a victory.
LOS ANGELES 63, PHOENIX 56: Lisa Leslie had 23 points and 11 rebounds as the visiting Sparks won the Western Conference title and secured homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
HOUSTON 63, MINNESOTA 51: Rita Williams scored a season-high 15 to lead the host Comets.
SACRAMENTO 59, SEATTLE 51: Yolanda Griffith scored 19 and Tangela Smith added 17 as the host Monarchs won their 10th game in their final 12.
FRANKFURT, Germany -- All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks received clearance to play for Germany at the upcoming World Championships in Indianapolis, the German basketball federation said.
Federation spokesman Christoph Bueker said an insurance coverage dispute with Dallas owner Mark Cuban was settled. The federation will pay about $200,000 to have Nowitzki covered for the Aug. 29-Sept. 8 event, he said.
Nowitzki, who had ankle surgery after the NBA season, has been training with the German team and will play in a warmup tournament this week.
Center Shawn Bradley, Nowitzki's Dallas teammate, is unlikely to play because the German federation has not paid his insurance premium.
Also, Bulls rookie Jay Williams, an alternate on the U.S. national team, is expected to be added to the main roster as a replacement for the injured Ray Allen, the Associated Press reported.
BLAZERS: The team signed Jeff McInnis, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound free agent guard who spent the past three seasons with the Clippers.
BULLS: The team signed second-round draft pick Roger Mason. Terms were not disclosed.
76ERS: Test results showed forward Derrick Coleman had a blood alcohol level of 0.13 percent when he was stopped July 27 in Farmington Hills, Mich., for driving nearly 100 mph. Michigan's legal limit is 0.10 percent.
WARRIORS: Chris Mullin, a five-time All-Star and Golden State's fourth-leading career scorer, rejoined the team as a special assistant.
-- Information from Times wires was used in this report.