WNBA betting is heating up as the league heads towards it championship series. Sunday finds Lauren Jackson and the Seattle Storm a win away from bouncing Phoenix.
The Seattle Storm took Game 1 of the WNBA’s Western Conference Finals in Thursday’s 82-74 win as 7 ½-point home favorites against the Phoenix Mercury. Sunday afternoon’s rematch in the best-of-three series moves both clubs to the southwest, with Phoenix one defeat away from not repeating as league champions.
Sports books opened the Storm as one-point road ‘chalk’ to eliminate the Mercury, while first setting the WNBA betting ‘total’ at 175. Early Phoenix action drove the pointspread to be a pick’em on some boards.
Seattle’s Lauren Jackson notched team-highs of 23 points and 17 rebounds in Thursday’s affair. The 2010 league MVP drained 3-of-8 from beyond the arc, while sinking 6-of-7 from the foul line.
Mercury guard Diana Taurasi (22.6 PPG) was held to nine points, hitting only 2-of-15 buckets. The four-time All-Star logged six turnovers en route to one assist.
The combined 156 points plunged below the ‘total’ of 175 ½. Both clubs united to shoot 38.4 percent from the field.
The ‘under’ has gone 6-0 in Seattle’s last six games and 7-1 in Phoenix’ last eight.
Jackson and Co. are 3-0, SU and ATS, in their last three trips to Phoenix. Seattle came out on top, 78-73, as a 3 ½-point underdog against the Mercury in an Aug. 20 duel at US Airways Center.
Sunday’s battle is scheduled for 3 p.m. (ET), with ABC listed to provide national television coverage. If necessary, Wednesday’s Game 3 between the rivals would be held back in Seattle.
East finals tip off for Dream, Liberty
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The Atlanta Dream and New York Liberty begin the WNBA Eastern Conference Finals in the league’s nightcap of Sunday’s playoff doubleheader. Oddsmakers listed the Liberty as five-point home favorites, while opening the ‘total’ at 164.
Atlanta went 2-0, SU and ATS, against the Washington Mystics in last week’s conference semifinals. Marynell Meadors’ club saw the ‘over’ also cash at 2-0 while averaging 98 PPG.
The Dream had as much as a 35-point lead en route to a 101-77 win as one-point home ‘chalk’ in the Game 2 series-clincher, held on Aug. 27. Atlanta’s veteran forward Sancho Lyttle piled in 20 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds in less than 20 minutes on the floor.
New York has had a longer postseason road, needing all three conference semifinal matchups against the Indiana Fever to advance. The Liberty failed to cover ATS in Wednesday’s deciding 77-74 victory as four-point home favorites.
Cappie Pondexter led New York’s scoring with 30 points, hitting 12-of-24 from the field. The three-time All-Star added four assists and three rebounds.
New York outscored Indiana, 14-8, in the duel’s fourth quarter. ‘Over’ backers cashed tickets with the final period’s 22 combined points lifting the matchup above its 146 ½-point ‘total.’
The Liberty are 2-2, SU and ATS, against the Dream, with the ‘total’ also splitting. New York won an Aug. 13 matchup at Atlanta, 90-83, as a five-point road dog in the most recent clash between the clubs.
Atlanta is 0-2, SU and ATS, in its two spots with five or more days of rest. One of the defeats occurred in a June 11 visit to New York, with the Dream never leading in a 91-79 loss as 2 ½-point road dogs.
Sunday night’s contest begins at 7 p.m. (ET), with NBA TV broadcasting the game nationally. The squads will have one night off before Tuesday’s Game 2 in Atlanta.