Cooper, Comets Take Control

Cynthia Cooper, the two-time WNBA most valuable player who will retire after the playoffs, came through down the stretch to put the Houston Comets on the verge of a fourth consecutive championship.

Cooper scored 20 points, including five in the last minute, as the Comets held off the New York Liberty, 59-52, in Game 1 of the WNBA finals Thursday night.

“I always have stepped it up for the playoffs,” Cooper said. “The regular season is great and fine, but the playoffs is where you’re supposed to bring your ‘A’ game. And that’s what I’m doing.”

Cooper, 37, shot just seven for 23 but made some of the most important baskets of her career late in the game. The Comets can become the first professional sports team to win four consecutive championships since the NHL’s New York Islanders in 1980-83.

“We’re fighting to make history,” Cooper said. “I’m on a mission because we have made a lot of sacrifices throughout the season, and deserve to fight for this fourth one. And I’m on a mission because that’s what a professional athlete does at this time of the year--elevate her game.”

Tina Thompson added 15 points and Sheryl Swoopes had 12 for Houston, which stopped the Liberty’s 13-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden and sent the best-of-three series to the Compaq Center on Saturday.

“We’re not going down there to lose, I can tell you that,” Liberty guard Becky Hammon said. “We’re going down there to win.”

Tari Phillips of New York had 24 points on 10-for-19 shooting and grabbed 15 rebounds in a game deemed by many Liberty players as a must-win.

After a sloppy first half in which both teams struggled to score, Houston and New York turned it on in the second half.

The Comets opened up a 52-42 lead on Swoopes’ free throw with 7:40 remaining, but the Liberty went on a 6-0 run.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

WNBA Finals

Houston vs. New York

Best-of-three series:

* Game 1: Houston 59, New York 52

* Game 2: Saturday at Houston, 10:30 a.m.

* Game 3: Sunday at Houston, 10:30 a.m., if necessary.

All times Pacific