- The 3-seed Aces play at the 6-seed Fever at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, then the 1-seed Lynx visit the 8-seed Liberty at 8:30.
- Las Vegas beat Indiana 102-85 in Game 1 as A’ja Wilson scored 38 points on 15-of-19 shooting.
- New York upset Minnesota 91-75 in Game 1, with Breanna Stewart scoring 34 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
- Indiana is a 1.5-point favorite at home Tuesday, and Minnesota is -142 on the road with the Liberty at +120.
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx both face elimination Tuesday, one loss into a WNBA opening round that ends at two, after the Las Vegas Aces routed Indiana 102-85 and the New York Liberty stunned Minnesota 91-75 in Sunday’s openers.
A Series Format That Punishes Sunday’s Losers
The opening round is best-of-three in a 1-1-1 format: the higher seed hosts Game 1 and, if necessary, Game 3, while the lower seed hosts Game 2. That sends the Las Vegas Aces to Indianapolis to face the Indiana Fever at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on Prime, then the Minnesota Lynx to New York to face the New York Liberty at 8:30 p.m. on USA. A loss Tuesday ends the season for the home team in either game. A win forces a Game 3 back on the road team’s own floor Thursday.
Wilson’s Record Night
A’ja Wilson scored 38 points on 15-of-19 shooting with 16 rebounds and four blocks in Sunday’s win, a line that made her the first player in any WNBA game, regular season or playoffs, to reach 35 points, 15 rebounds and 75% shooting. Wilson was named the Associated Press’ WNBA Player of the Year for a third straight season earlier Sunday.
Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell combined to shoot just 10-for-33 from the field for Indiana, though Clark still finished with 10 assists. She had been listed as probable with a back injury that has sidelined her at points since May. Las Vegas has won three of the past four WNBA championships, and a win at -105 legal sports betting odds on Tuesday would close out the series without a return trip to Nevada.
A Finals Rematch, Reversed
New York and Minnesota had not met in the playoffs since the 2024 Finals, when the Liberty beat the Lynx 67-62 in overtime of Game 5 for the franchise’s first championship. Sunday’s roles flipped. Breanna Stewart scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and New York shot 13-of-25 from three-point range in the 91-75 win over a Minnesota team that owned the league’s best record. Guard Leonie Fiebich added 16 points, 14 of them in the second half. For Minnesota, Olivia Miles, named the AP’s Rookie of the Year the same morning, shot just 3-for-12, and Napheesa Collier and Natasha Howard both fouled out.
Tuesday’s Numbers
Indiana is -1.5 at home against Las Vegas with a total of 183.5. Minnesota is -142 on the road in Brooklyn, New York is +120, and the total is 172.5. The site’s WNBA betting coverage will track both numbers through tipoff. In the championship market, the Aces and Lynx are each +300 after Sunday, the Liberty are +550 and the Fever are +1600, a price that reflects an Indiana team one loss from the offseason. Neither series runs past three games. A Las Vegas or Minnesota win Tuesday ends it, while a Fever or Liberty win sends the series to a deciding Game 3 back at the higher seed’s arena Thursday.
