Cnotes 2018 wnba picks,trends,notes,news !

[CNOTES]

WNBA
Long Sheet


Tuesday, August 28


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WASHINGTON (23 - 12) at ATLANTA (23 - 12) - 8/28/2018, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 186-240 ATS (-78.0 Units) after a division game since 1997.
ATLANTA is 23-12 ATS (+9.8 Units) in all games this season.
ATLANTA is 14-6 ATS (+7.4 Units) as an underdog this season.
ATLANTA is 13-5 ATS (+7.5 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
ATLANTA is 15-5 ATS (+9.5 Units) after allowing 75 points or more this season.
ATLANTA is 17-8 ATS (+8.2 Units) after scoring 75 points or more this season.
ATLANTA is 14-4 ATS (+9.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ATLANTA is 15-4 ATS (+10.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game after 15+ games this season.
ATLANTA is 18-10 ATS (+7.0 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game this season.
ATLANTA is 14-4 ATS (+9.6 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game after 15+ games this season.
ATLANTA is 19-9 ATS (+9.1 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game this season.
WASHINGTON is 17-7 ATS (+9.3 Units) in road games vs. division opponents over the last 3 seasons.


Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 6-2 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 7-3 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons


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PHOENIX (22 - 15) at SEATTLE (27 - 8) - 8/28/2018, 10:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SEATTLE is 21-13 ATS (+6.7 Units) in all games this season.
SEATTLE is 126-87 ATS (+30.3 Units) in home games vs. division opponents since 1997.
SEATTLE is 15-6 ATS (+8.4 Units) after allowing 75 points or more this season.
SEATTLE is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game after 15+ games this season.
SEATTLE is 17-9 ATS (+7.1 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game this season.
PHOENIX is 23-14 ATS (+7.6 Units) in all games this season.
PHOENIX is 12-3 ATS (+8.7 Units) as an underdog this season.
PHOENIX is 15-4 ATS (+10.6 Units) in road games this season.
PHOENIX is 15-4 ATS (+10.6 Units) in a road game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 this season.
PHOENIX is 8-2 ATS (+5.8 Units) in August or September games this season.
PHOENIX is 14-3 ATS (+10.7 Units) in road games after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 35-16 ATS (+17.4 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive overs since 1997.
PHOENIX is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) in road games revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
PHOENIX is 11-4 ATS (+6.6 Units) in road games after allowing 75 points or more this season.
PHOENIX is 20-10 ATS (+9.0 Units) after scoring 75 points or more this season.
PHOENIX is 25-14 ATS (+9.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game after 15+ games over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 10-3 ATS (+6.7 Units) in road games versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game this season.
PHOENIX is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game this season.


Head-to-Head Series History
PHOENIX is 6-5 against the spread versus SEATTLE over the last 3 seasons
SEATTLE is 6-5 straight up against PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons


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WNBA


Tuesday, August 28


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Washington Mystics
Washington is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games
Washington is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Washington is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Washington's last 15 games when playing Atlanta
Washington is 3-6-2 ATS in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Washington is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Washington is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Atlanta Dream
Atlanta is 15-2-1 ATS in its last 18 games
Atlanta is 15-3 SU in its last 18 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Atlanta's last 15 games
Atlanta is 9-1-1 ATS in its last 11 games at home
Atlanta is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Atlanta's last 19 games at home
Atlanta is 2-6-2 ATS in its last 10 games when playing Washington
Atlanta is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Atlanta's last 15 games when playing Washington
Atlanta is 1-3-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Washington
Atlanta is 12-6 SU in its last 18 games when playing at home against Washington
Atlanta is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Washington




Phoenix Mercury
Phoenix is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Phoenix is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games
Phoenix is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Phoenix's last 7 games on the road
Phoenix is 14-6 ATS in its last 20 games when playing Seattle
Phoenix is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing Seattle
Phoenix is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Seattle
Phoenix is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Phoenix's last 7 games when playing on the road against Seattle
Seattle Storm
Seattle is 15-5 ATS in its last 20 games
Seattle is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games
Seattle is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games at home
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Seattle's last 11 games at home
Seattle is 6-14 ATS in its last 20 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 6-14 SU in its last 20 games when playing Phoenix
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 1-8 ATS in its last 9 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Seattle is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Phoenix
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Seattle's last 7 games when playing at home against Phoenix

 

[CNOTES]

WNBA
Dunkel


Tuesday, August 28



Washington @ Atlanta


Game 317-318
August 28, 2018 @ 8:00 pm


Dunkel Rating:
Washington
111.979
Atlanta
119..263
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Atlanta
by 7 1/2
173
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 2
164
Dunkel Pick:
Atlanta
(+2); Over


Phoenix @ Seattle


Game 319-320
August 28, 2018 @ 10:00 pm


Dunkel Rating:
Phoenix
115.079
Seattle
114.923
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Phoenix
Even
180
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Seattle
by 5 1/2
174
Dunkel Pick:
Phoenix
(+5 1/2); Over

 

[CNOTES]

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack


Nevada casinos’ net profit in July:


Sports betting: $4.0 M


Roulette: $32.7M


Craps: $35.0M


Blackjack: $93.3M


Baccarat: $101.0M


Penny slots: $281.1M


**********


Armadillo: College football trends for games that didn’t make my top 13……..


13) San Diego State (+8) upset Stanford 20-17 last year; Aztecs are 12-6 vs spread in their last 18 road games. Stanford is 3-7 in its last ten games as home favorites.


12) Since 2014, UCLA is 8-16 vs spread at home; they play Oklahoma next week. Cincinnati has a new QB, only 21 starts back on OL; they’re 13-10 vs spread in last 23 road games.


11) Since 2012, Florida Atlantic is 20-7-1 as a road underdog; Oklahoma covered 13 of last 17 tries as a home favorite- they play UCLA next week.


10) Wake Forest’s QB is suspended for this game; Deacons are 10-6 vs spread in their last 16 road games. Tulane is 7-5 vs spread at home under Fritz.


9) Since 2011, Navy is 24-14 vs spread on road; Hawai’i allowed 653 yards in their upset win last week at Colorado State, but 537 of those were thru air. Since 2011, Rainbows are 8-15-1 as a home underdog.


8) Syracuse is 7-3 vs spread on road under Babers; Western Michigan is 7-5 vs spread in its last 12 home games. Last seven years, ACC teams are 16-10 vs spread when playing MAC opponents.


7) Central Michigan is 7-3 as road underdogs under coach Bonamego; since 2015, Kentucky is 4-10 as a home favorite.


6) Marshall’s QB has 20 career starts, but they were at I-AA Wagner; Thundering Herd is 10-3-1 vs spread in its last 14 games as road underdogs. Miami (-1.5) lost 31-26 at Marshall LY; Red Hawks are 4-7 vs spread in their last 11 home games.


5) Indiana won its last two games with FIU, 34-13/36-22; Hoosiers are 11-15 vs spread in their last 26 road games. FIU was 4-0 as a home underdog LY, in Butch Davis’ first year there.


4) SMU won its last three games with North Texas: 54-32, 34-21, 31-13; Mustangs are 6-4-1 vs spread in their last 11 road games. Since 2011, Mean Green is 14-7 as home favorites.


3) Since 2008, Boise State is 36-16 as road favorites; they’re 12-8 vs spread in last 20 non-MW games. Since 2008, Troy is 3-4 as home underdogs.


2) Since 2012, UNLV is 21-8 vs spread as road underdogs; since ’11, USC is 25-17 as home favorites.


1) A final word on betting college football, from Alex Kolodziej, betting writer for The Score:


“…….however, a warning: More teams mean more opportunities, and more opportunities mean increased betting volume. And I’ll be the first to say that when Week 1 of college football arrives and there are 40 more games to choose from than the opening week of the NFL, there will be a raging impulse to take every nugget from your Phil Steele magazine and apply them.


Do not listen to that impulse. Be selective. Or be broke.”

 

[CNOTES]

WNBA
Dunkel


Friday, August 31



Atlanta @ Washington


Game 601-602
August 31, 2018 @ 8:00 pm


Dunkel Rating:
Atlanta
115.025
Washington
116.217
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 1
163
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 2 1/2
161
Dunkel Pick:
Atlanta
(+2 1/2); Over


Seattle @ Phoenix


Game 603-604
August 31, 2018 @ 10:00 pm


Dunkel Rating:
Seattle
115.477
Phoenix
114.525
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Seattle
by 1
180
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Phoenix
by 2 1/2
174 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Seattle
(+2 1/2); Over








WNBA
Long Sheet


Friday, August 31


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ATLANTA (24 - 12) at WASHINGTON (23 - 13) - 8/31/2018, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 24-12 ATS (+10.8 Units) in all games this season.
ATLANTA is 15-6 ATS (+8.4 Units) as an underdog this season.
ATLANTA is 8-2 ATS (+5.8 Units) in August or September games this season.
ATLANTA is 16-5 ATS (+10.5 Units) after allowing 75 points or more this season.
ATLANTA is 18-8 ATS (+9.2 Units) after scoring 75 points or more this season.
ATLANTA is 15-4 ATS (+10.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ATLANTA is 16-4 ATS (+11.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game after 15+ games this season.
ATLANTA is 19-10 ATS (+8.0 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game this season.
ATLANTA is 15-4 ATS (+10.6 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game after 15+ games this season.
ATLANTA is 20-9 ATS (+10.1 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game this season.
WASHINGTON is 34-55 ATS (-26.5 Units) as a home favorite of 3 points or less since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 186-241 ATS (-79.1 Units) after a division game since 1997.


Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 6-3 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 7-4 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons


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SEATTLE (28 - 8) at PHOENIX (22 - 16) - 8/31/2018, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SEATTLE is 79-108 ATS (-39.8 Units) in road games after a division game since 1997.
PHOENIX is 24-14 ATS (+8.6 Units) in all games this season.
PHOENIX is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in August or September games this season.
PHOENIX is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) on Friday this season.
PHOENIX is 11-4 ATS (+6.6 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
PHOENIX is 21-10 ATS (+10.0 Units) after scoring 75 points or more this season.
PHOENIX is 26-14 ATS (+10.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game after 15+ games over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 34-22 ATS (+9.8 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
SEATTLE is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) in road games this season.
SEATTLE is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) in a road game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 this season.
SEATTLE is 15-7 ATS (+7.3 Units) after allowing 75 points or more this season.
SEATTLE is 11-4 ATS (+6.6 Units) in road games after scoring 75 points or more this season.
SEATTLE is 13-5 ATS (+7.5 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game after 15+ games this season.
SEATTLE is 11-4 ATS (+6.6 Units) in road games versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game this season.
PHOENIX is 3-10 ATS (-8.0 Units) in home games after allowing 75 points or more this season.


Head-to-Head Series History
PHOENIX is 7-5 against the spread versus SEATTLE over the last 3 seasons
SEATTLE is 7-5 straight up against PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
7 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------








WNBA


Friday, August 31


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Atlanta Dream
Atlanta is 16-2-1 ATS in its last 19 games
Atlanta is 16-3 SU in its last 19 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Atlanta's last 16 games
Atlanta is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
Atlanta is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Atlanta's last 12 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 6 games on the road
Atlanta is 3-6-2 ATS in its last 11 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Atlanta's last 16 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Atlanta's last 11 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington Mystics
Washington is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Washington is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games
Washington is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Washington's last 9 games at home
Washington is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Washington's last 16 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Washington's last 11 games when playing at home against Atlanta




Seattle Storm
Seattle is 15-6 ATS in its last 21 games
Seattle is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Seattle is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Seattle is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Seattle's last 5 games on the road
Seattle is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 7-14 SU in its last 21 games when playing Phoenix
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 15-7 ATS in its last 22 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
Seattle is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
Phoenix Mercury
Phoenix is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games
Phoenix is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Phoenix's last 7 games
Phoenix is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Phoenix is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Phoenix's last 8 games at home
Phoenix is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Seattle
Phoenix is 14-7 SU in its last 21 games when playing Seattle
Phoenix is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing Seattle
Phoenix is 7-15 ATS in its last 22 games when playing at home against Seattle
Phoenix is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Seattle

 

[CNOTES]

Mystics hope to have Delle Donne available vs. Dream


WASHINGTON -- Time is the enemy of the Washington Mystics as Friday's Game 3 of their WNBA semifinal series against the Atlanta Dream approaches.


Mystics All-Star forward Elena Delle Donne is questionable after leaving Game 2 with what was later diagnosed as a left knee bone bruise. She sat out Thursday's practice to receive treatment in hopes of getting ready for Friday.


"She's tough. If she can play, she will," Mystics coach Mike Thibault told the Washington Post. "We'll see. It's been kind of round-the-clock rehab."


The best-of-five series between second-seeded Atlanta and third-seeded Washington is tied 1-1, with Game 3 to be played at the Charles E. Smith Center on the campus of George Washington University. Game 4 will also take place at the Smith Center on Sunday.


Delle Donne's left knee bent awkwardly on a drive to the basket with just over three minutes remaining in Tuesday's game. She was helped off the court by teammates and tests Wednesday revealed no ligament damage.


Delle Donne is averaging 26 points and 13 rebounds in three postseason games this year. She had 27 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in Game 2 as Washington built a double-digit lead before Atlanta rallied.


Washington led 70-68 when Delle Donne went down, but lost 78-75 after failing to make a field goal in the final two minutes.


Alex Bentley came off the bench to score 22 points for the Dream. Jessica Breland finished with 10 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and a franchise-record seven blocks. Bentley has averaged 20.5 points in Atlanta's two playoff games, with Tiffany Hayes adding 17.0 per game.


The Dream already were missing star Angel McCoughtry, who went down late in the season with a knee injury.


Atlanta outrebounded Washington 44-26 in Game 2 and received a boost off the bench from 6-foot-7 Imani McGee Stafford, who contributed four points and three rebounds in eight minutes after sitting out Game 1.


"I knew Imani was champing at the bit to give us some minutes," Dream coach Nicki Collen told ESPN.com. "She gave us good minutes. We just wanted to give (the Mystics) a different look in short spurts."


Washington went 1-3 without Delle Donne in the regular season. Tianna Hawkins stepped in and averaged 12.8 points and 6.8 rebounds during that stretch.


"We didn't really talk about her today, actually," Mystics veteran guard Monique Currie told the Post regarding Delle Donne. "We just went through practice as we normally would. Obviously, we're hoping that she'll be fine for tomorrow, but we know that we have to be prepared for her not to be."


Kristi Tolliver is averaging 11.7 points per game in the playoffs for Washington, second most behind Delle Donne.


Breland, the WNBA's third-leading shot-blocker (1.91 bpg) this season, was named to the league's all-defensive first team. Hayes and Ariel Atkins of the Mystics were named to the second team.




**************************




2-0 deficit turns Mercury into Storm chasers


The Seattle Storm are one win in their best-of-five series with the Phoenix Mercury from advancing to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2010.


That one win will be difficult. Seattle must play the Phoenix Mercury on the road in Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals on Friday night and the Mercury, down 2-0 in the series, will not be eliminated easily.


Standing in the way of the Storm, the team with the best overall record (26-8) during the WNBA regular season, are veterans Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and DeWanna Bonner.


Taurasi, in particular, is the one the Storm are concerned about after she led the fifth-seeded Mercury (who finished 20-14 in the regular season) to a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback in Game 2 on Tuesday before losing 91-87 in overtime at Seattle.


Taurasi outscored Seattle 14-12 in the quarter and made a 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds left to cap a Mercury comeback from 19 points down.


"It's the playoffs and if you're going to win a championship you got to go through the best and Diana is the best," said Seattle guard Sue Bird, a former teammate of Taurasi's at Connecticut. "In some ways, it's almost impossible to stop. In other ways, as an opponent, you're just constantly trying to think of ways to stop it. But once she gets into that zone, it's really difficult.


"For us to be able to weather these two games -- of course we're upset we lost the lead -- but we weathered and we were able to still get the win against a great player and a really solid team. We feel very fortunate to be sitting here up 2-0 and we know it's not going to be easy in Phoenix."


Bird, who finished with 19 points and six assists on Tuesday, made the go-ahead layup in overtime with 1:09 left and the Storm's defense took over from there after collapsing against Taurasi and the Mercury in the fourth quarter.


In both wins so far over Phoenix, Seattle has built a double-digit lead in the fourth only for the Mercury to surge back with a furious rally.


"We made a couple shots here, caused some turnovers there," said Taurasi, who made all four of her shots in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers, in Game 2. "They missed some shots. We were able to get into some sort of rhythm that I don't think we've been able to get to in this series so far.


"It was a slew of things, and we kept cutting the lead little by little. That shows a lot of fight from our team."


An example of Seattle's late-game breakdowns against Phoenix: WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart scored just two of her team-high 27 points in the fourth quarter of Game 2.


"You get the lead, you probably relax a little bit, and then all of a sudden they start to get it going," Seattle coach Dan Hughes said. "You could see it. This shot goes in. This shot goes in, then this shot goes in, so they get momentum and all of a sudden the momentum has changed.


"I think it's a growing process for us. Every game we are trying to learn something."


Griner, a five-time WNBA All-Star, scored 23 points on 11-of-19 shooting and collected 10 rebounds in nearly 35 minutes before fouling out with 4:01 left in overtime. Her exit frustrated Phoenix, which once again realized it must have better starts to have a good chance to upset the Storm in the end.


"Very, very disappointed," Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. "We dug ourselves a big hole again. We were very resilient getting back into the game and finally made some 3-point shots. It took us until the last 20 seconds at the end to make them, but it's a game that we should've won."

 

[CNOTES]

FRIDAY, AUGUST 31
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


ATL at WAS 08:00 PM
ATL +2.0
O 159.5


SEA at PHO 10:00 PM
SEA +2.5
O 174.0

 

[CNOTES]

Hayes, Dream beat Mystics 81-76 for 2-1 series lead
By By BENJAMIN STANDIG


WASHINGTON (AP) While the Washington Mystics tried adjusting without injured All-Star Elena Delle Donne, the Atlanta Dream benefitted from lessons learned after losing their best player weeks ago.


Tiffany Hayes had 23 points and 11 rebounds and the Dream beat the Mystics 81-76 on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five WNBA semifinal series.


Brittney Sykes scored 17 points, and Elizabeth Williams had 14 for the Dream. Atlanta is one victory away from the franchise's fourth finals appearance and first since 2013.


The lead changed 14 times through three quarters but never in the fourth. Sykes's third 3-pointer of the game gave the Dream their largest lead at 77-66 with 2:38 left. Washington scored the next six points and trailed 79-74 with 35.7 seconds remaining, but would get no closer.


''This team knows how to win games late,'' Dream coach Nicki Collen said. ''We guard people and we have players that can make plays. We get into tight situations, there's rarely much panic with this group.''


Playing without Delle Donne, who suffered a bone bruise on her left knee in the closing minutes of Tuesday's 78-75 Game 2 loss at Atlanta, didn't unnerve the Mystics. It did force several lineup changes including a four-guard look as Washington searched for winning combinations.


The Dream already went through this adjustment as Delle Donne's absence meant both teams played without its best player. Atlanta closed out the regular season sans All-Star forward Angel McCoughtry, who suffered a knee injury Aug. 7 against Las Vegas.


''It's kind of how the Mystics were today. When somebody goes down you just play a little bit harder and play for each other,'' Williams said. ''We've been fortunate to have the extra time to get used to playing without Angel.''


Delle Donne averaged 29.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in the first two games of the series. Washington's offense labored without its leading scorer and rebounder. The Mystics shot 36 percent from the field and 5 of 23 on 3-point attempts.


''I thought we put up a great fight,'' Mystics coach Mike Thibault said. ''I don't think we played great offensively at all.''


Kristi Toliver, who joined Delle Donne in the 2018 All-Star game, had seven points on 3 of 15 shooting and missed eight of nine 3-point attempts. Her backcourt partner, Natasha Cloud scored three points.


Aerial Powers came off the bench to lead Washington with a season-high 18 points.


Atlanta entered the final period leading 56-54 and extended the lead to 66-58 on Sykes's 3-pointer with 7:15 remaining.


With Delle Donne out and the Mystics in experimental mode, Powers played extended minutes at power forward for the first time this season.


''We couldn't completely change our offense because we didn't know if (Elena' was going to play until today,'' said center LaToya Sanders, who had 12 points and six blocked shots. ''We did what we could this morning. We kind of just played on the fly today. It worked in some moments, but you could see how new it was for us in certain moments especially on the defensive end.''


TIP-INS


Ariel Atkins scored 17 points for Washington. . Atlanta led 37-34 at halftime and extended the lead to 48-38 in the third quarter before Washington rallied with a 12-1 run. ... Delle Donne dressed for the game and sat on the bench. She did not walk with a discernible limp, but was deliberate with her gait going to and from the locker room.


WHAT'S NEXT


Game 4 is set for Sunday in Washington. Tip time remains unsettled depending on the outcome of Friday's Game 3 in the other semifinal series between Seattle and Phoenix. The No. 1 seed Storm entered the weekend with a 2-0 lead.


**********************


Mercury Beat Storm 86-66 To Force Game 4
The Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — DeWanna Bonner had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and the Phoenix Mercury scored the first 14 points of the fourth quarter to beat the Seattle Storm 86-66 on Friday night to force a Game 4 in the WNBA semifinal series.


The Mercury had fallen into big holes and rallied in the fourth quarter, only to come up short the first two games of the series.


Phoenix kept it close in Game 3 at home and made another big run in the fourth quarter to cut Seattle's lead to 2-1 in a series that heads to Game 4 on Sunday in Phoenix.


The Mercury suffered a blow before the game, learning starting forward Stephanie Talbot would not play due to a concussion. Phoenix also had to play through a difficult night offensively for Diana Taurasi, who had eight points on 3-of-11 shooting.


Brittany Griner had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Yvonne Turner had 19 points in Talbot's place to help the Mercury end a 10-game losing streak in WNBA semifinal games.


Natasha Howard had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Storm. Breanna Stewart added 15 points and 11 rebounds in Seattle's eighth straight road playoff loss dating to 2011.


Seattle won the first two games with the same score (91-87) and the same formula: Use big runs in the middle two quarters to build double-digit leads, then hold off a late Mercury charges. The Storm turned missed shots and turnovers into transition points during their big runs, were not able to get out on the break when Phoenix rallied.


Phoenix got off to third straight good start in the series, hitting 10 of 21 shots in the first quarter to lead 26-16.


Just like the first two games, the Storm answered with a big run, using a 15-4 stretch to go up 31-30.


This time, the Mercury didn't wait until the fourth quarter to answer, building the lead back to 42-35 behind Bonner's 18 points.


GRINER'S BLOCKS


Griner blocked a shot and has 77 in the playoffs during her career, tying Ruth Riley for second on WNBA's all-time playoff list. She still has a long way to go for the top spot: Lisa Leslie has 132 career playoff blocks.


TIP-INS


Griner and Seattle's Alysha Clark both fell to the floor holding their heads after a collision midway through the third quarter. Griner was called for an offensive foul and remained in the game. Clark returned a few minutes later. ... Jewell Loyd and Sue Bird, Seattle's second and third-leading scorers, combined for two points on 1-of-18 shooting. Bird did have 11 assists. ... Phoenix had 13 assists after averaging 23.3 in the playoffs.


WHAT'S NEXT


Game 4 is Sunday in Phoenix.

 

[CNOTES]

SEMIFINALS


Seattle vs Phoenix
Sun, Aug. 26: Seattle 91, Phoenix 87
Tue, Aug. 28: Seattle 91, Phoenix 87
Fri, Aug. 31: Phoenix 86, Seattle 66
Sun, Sep. 2: Seattle at Phoenix – GM4 (3 PM ET, ESPN2)
Tue, Sep. 4: Phoenix at Seattle – GM5* (TBD, ESPNews/NBA TV)


Atlanta vs Washington
Sun, Aug. 26: Washington 87, Atlanta 84
Tue, Aug. 28: Atlanta 78, Washington 75
Fri, Aug. 31: Atlanta 81, Washington 76
Sun, Sep. 2: Atlanta at Washington – GM4 (5 PM ET, ESPN2)
Tue, Sep. 4: Washington at Atlanta – GM5* (TBD, ESPN2)




********************




WNBA PLAYOFF BEST BET RECORD:




DATE.......................ATS...................U NITS....................0/U....................UNITS..........TOTAL


08/31/2018............1 - 1...................-0.50......................0 - 2.................-11.00..........-11.50
08/28/2018............2 - 0...................+10.00...................1 - 1.................-0.50............+9.50
08/26/2018............1 - 1...................-0.50......................0 - 2................-11.00...........-11.50
08/23/2018............1 - 1...................-0.50......................2 - 0................+10.00..........+9.50
08/21/2018............1 - 1...................-0.50......................1 - 1.................-0.50.............-1.00


Totals....................6 - 4...................+8.00.....................4 - 6................-13.00.............-5.00

 

[CNOTES]

Saturday’s six-pack


— Rams signed DT Aaron Donald to a contract extension with $87M guaranteed in it.


— Nationals traded P Gio Gonzalez to Milwaukee; he has a 7.47 ERA in six August starts.


— Texans released 7-time Pro Bowl punter Shane Lechler, who is 42 years old.


— Chiefs traded OL Parker Ehinger to Dallas for CB Charvarius Ward; Cowboys have a need on the offensive line right now.


— SF Giants dumped $1.2M in salary by dealing Andrew McCutchen to New York.


— Blue Jays traded oft-injured 3B Josh Donaldson to Cleveland; he hasn’t played since May 28 (calf).

Quote of the Day
“I hope one of Jalen Ramsey’s coaches or teammates tells him that he is a player and not a broadcaster at this point in his career. He’s a great player. He needs to concentrate on his job and leave the analysis of other players to the media.”
Tony Dungy

Saturday’s quiz
Who was the Chargers’ coach last time they finished 1st (or tied for 1st) in AFC West?

Friday’s quiz
Next week, Sam Darnold will become the youngest QB since 1970 to start a Week 1 game; Drew Bledsoe currently holds that record.


Thursday’s quiz
Wyoming is the least populated state in this country.




***********************



Saturday’s List of 13: Clearing out a cluttered mind…….


13) According to the Sacramento Bee, a former top executive of the Sacramento Kings is suspected of siphoning off $13.4M from two of the team’s top sponsors and using the funds to buy beachfront property in Southern California.


FBI and federal prosecutors are investigating Jeffrey R. David, 44, the former chief revenue officer for the Kings who currently holds the same job with the Miami Heat.


12) There have been 81 walk-off homers in the major leagues this season, which is a new record.


11) Florida Atlantic has a QB named Chris Robison, a 4-star recruit from Texas who originally signed with Oklahoma out of high school and enrolled in Norman in January 2017, He was arrested for public intoxication three months later and was later tossed in August 2017 for another unspecified violation.


Now Robison is playing for Lane Kiffin at FAU; the Owls haven’t announced who the starting QB will be for their opener at Oklahoma, and most figure they’ll play more than one QB anyway, but has to be emotional for this kid to start his college career against the Sooners.


10) Phillies lost a game 5-4 this week when they had the tying run on 2nd base with one out; batter hits a fly ball to center, the pinch-runner on second (pitcher Vince Velasquez) tags up and goes to third, but he left second too early and Washington appealed the play and the game ended. Not the ideal way to lose a game when you’re in a pennant race.


9) A’s pitcher Trevor Cahill has started 17 games this year:
— Home: eight starts, 0.85 ERA
— Road: nine starts, 7.02 ERA


8) Houston Astros finally gave manager AJ Hinch a contract extension, which he earned by winning the World Series last year.


7) Giants dealt OF Andrew McCutchen to the Bronx for two prospects; does this mean Aaron Judge might not be ready for the playoffs?


6) David Price got hit on his left (pitching) wrist by a 102 mph line drive Wednesday and left the game. Last thing the Red Sox (or anyone) needs right now is an injury to a pitcher.


5) Albert Pujols had knee surgery, is done for this year. Shohei Ohtani will pitch for the Angels against Houston on the Sunday night ESPN game, his first start since June 6.


4) Memo to TV people; don’t show roughing-the-passer penalties in slow motion. EVERY hit looks like roughing if you don’t show it at game speed.


3) Royals traded 1B Lucas Duda to Atlanta; teams will equally divide the $600K Duda is due the rest of this season.


2) LSU’s starting QB Joe Burrow is a transfer from Ohio State; he threw 11 passes LY as the Buckeyes’ 3rd-string QB. Two of the three guys he beat out for the starting job have already transferred out of Baton Rouge.


Wonder how Bayou Bengal fans feel about Ohio State’s 3rd-string QB being their starter.


1) NFL teams will cut their rosters down from 90 players to 53 this weekend; to lot of us, those are just names on a computer screen, but those are 1,184 young guys who are looking for a job- guys with families and friends. Much respect to anyone who even made it to a training camp.

 

[CNOTES]

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack


— Raiders also traded with Buffalo for QB AJ McCarron; Gruden likes to collect QB’s. Oakland gave the Bills a 5th-round draft pick for a guy with three NFL starts. Oakland cut Connor Cook.


— Word out of Philly: QB Nick Foles will start the Eagles’ season opener Thursday.


— Notre Dame 24, Michigan 17— Emotion outweighed execution in this game.


— New Jersey Giants kept four QB’s on their 53-man roster.


— Dallas Cowboys released veteran kicker Dan Bailey.


— With rosters expanding on Sept 1, A’s activated eight players Saturday, mostly pitchers.




**********


Armadillo: Sunday's List of 13: Wrapping up a football Saturday


13) Oakland Raiders traded star LB Khalil Mack to the Bears Saturday, getting two first round picks in return. Consensus on the Interweb is that this is a good trade for Chicago. Teams also swapped four other draft picks; Bears got a 2nd round pick in 2020, Raiders got a 3rd.


This says that Jon Gruden has all the power in Oakland; GM Reggie McKenzie and owner Mark Davis were supposedly not real anxious to trade Mack, but they also weren’t close to signing him to a new contract, either.


Chicago quickly gave Mack a 6-year, $141M contract extension. After the trade was announced, Bears dropped from 100-1 to 40-1 to win the Super Bowl; Raiders went from 20-1 to 40-1.


12) Auburn 21, Washington 16- Huskies gained 398 yards, but scored only one TD; they were 5-14 on 3rd down, -2 in turnovers and missed a short FG. SEC teams are now 9-3 in their last 12 games against Pac-12 opponents.


11) Penn State 45, Appalachian State 38, OT— 11 years ago this weekend, App State won at Michigan, when the Wolverines were #5 in country. App State was a I-AA team then; they’re in the Sun Belt now, and was a 24-point underdog here- they scored 28 points in 4th quarter after trailing 24-10, but the Nittany Lions tied the game with 0:42 left and avoided the upset in OT.


10) Cincinnati 26, UCLA 17— 6:00 left in the game, Cincy led 19-17; UCLA had 4th-and-1 from its own 36 with a true freshman (backup) QB playing, and the Bruins went for it, threw the ball, and failed miserably. Poor start to the Chip Kelly era in Westwood.


9) Maryland 34, Texas 29— For second year in a row, Terrapins upset Texas as a double-digit underdog; this game was delayed a while by stormy weather.


8) Michigan State 38, Utah State 31— Spartans were favored by 23.5, but needed a 13-yard TD with 2:00 left to hold off the gritty Aggies, who threw for 319 yards and look to be an improved team this season.


7) I-A teams that lost to I-AA teams:
— San Jose State (-2.5) lost 44-38 to Cal-Davis.
— Temple (-14.5) lost 19-17 to Villanova.
— UTEP (+7) lost 30-10 to Northern Arizona.
— Kansas (-9) lost 26-23 in OT to Nicholls State.


6) Rutgers 35, Texas State 7— Bobcats’ only score came on a pick-6; they had zero INT’s all of last season, which is hard to believe. Not sure I’ve ever heard of a team going thru an entire season with no INT’s. Bobcats were -15 in turnovers LY, -14 the year before, going 2-10 both seasons. Hard to win with terrible turnover margins.


5) West Virginia 40, Tennessee 14- Will Grier passed for 429 yards, five TD’s, as Mountaineers opened their season with a decisive win on a neutral field in Charlotte. Total yardage in this game was 547-301.


4) Illinois 31, Kent State 24— Huge sigh of relief from Champaign; Illini trailed this game 17-3 at the half. Total yardage was 469-453, not a good omen for the Illini’s Big 14 hopes.


3) Ole Miss 47, Texas Tech 27— Signing Day for college football is usually the first Wednesday in February; every year on day after Signing Day, I ask here why Texas Tech doesn’t sign more defensive players, and then in the fall, when their defense sucks, I ask again.


Last two years, Texas Tech lost eight games that they scored 30+ points in.


2) Buffalo Bills cut WR Corey Coleman, who they acquired from Cleveland this month; Bills now have $50M of dead money on their salary cap- next highest is Dallas, with $26M in dead money.


1) Cowboys’ TE Rico Gathers was arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession by police in Frisco, TX Friday, as he sat on the bubble to make the Dallas roster. No bueno.


Gathers played basketball at Baylor; not sure what else to say here, other than your job as a player is to give the team reasons to keep you, not reasons to cut you.


Somehow, Gathers still made the Cowboys’ 53-man roster; we’ll see if he sticks.

 

[CNOTES]

WNBA
Dunkel


Sunday, September 2



Atlanta @ Washington


Game 607-608
September 2, 2018 @ 3:00 pm


Dunkel Rating:
Atlanta
111.057
Washington
120.185
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 9
154
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 2
158
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-2); Under


Seattle @ Phoenix


Game 605-606
September 2, 2018 @ 5:00 pm


Dunkel Rating:
Seattle
112.683
Phoenix
117.318
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Phoenix
by 4 1/2
175
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Phoenix
by 2
172 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Phoenix
(-2); Over








WNBA
Long Sheet


Sunday, September 2


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


SEATTLE (28 - 9) at PHOENIX (23 - 16) - 9/2/2018, 5:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
PHOENIX is 8-5 against the spread versus SEATTLE over the last 3 seasons
SEATTLE is 7-6 straight up against PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
7 of 13 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATLANTA (25 - 12) at WASHINGTON (23 - 14) - 9/2/2018, 3:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 6-4 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 7-5 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
7 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------






WNBA


Sunday, September 2


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Atlanta Dream
Atlanta is 17-2-1 ATS in its last 20 games
Atlanta is 17-3 SU in its last 20 games
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Atlanta's last 17 games
Atlanta is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games on the road
Atlanta is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta's last 7 games on the road
Atlanta is 4-1-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Washington
Atlanta is 4-6-2 ATS in its last 12 games when playing Washington
Atlanta is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing Washington
Atlanta is 12-6 SU in its last 18 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Atlanta's last 12 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington Mystics
Washington is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Washington is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Washington's last 23 games
Washington is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Washington is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Washington's last 10 games at home
Washington is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Atlanta
Washington is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing Atlanta
Washington is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games when playing at home against Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Washington's last 12 games when playing at home against Atlanta




Seattle Storm
Seattle is 15-7 ATS in its last 22 games
Seattle is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
Seattle is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Seattle's last 6 games
Seattle is 9-3 ATS in its last 12 games on the road
Seattle is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Seattle's last 6 games on the road
Seattle is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 7-15 SU in its last 22 games when playing Phoenix
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Seattle's last 6 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 15-8 ATS in its last 23 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
Seattle is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
Phoenix Mercury
Phoenix is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Phoenix is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Phoenix's last 8 games
Phoenix is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Phoenix is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games at home
Phoenix is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Seattle
Phoenix is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games when playing Seattle
Phoenix is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix's last 6 games when playing Seattle
Phoenix is 8-15 ATS in its last 23 games when playing at home against Seattle
Phoenix is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Seattl

 

[CNOTES]

Mercury looking to knot series with Storm


PHOENIX (AP) Intensity is a main reason Phoenix is still alive in its WNBA semifinal series against Seattle. The Mercury had it in abundance in Game 3 on Friday night. The Storm, not so much.


That was the assessment of the Storm, anyway, in the wake of an 86-66 loss to Phoenix that cut Seattle's lead in the best-of-five series to 2-1.


''They clearly came out as a team whose back was against the wall and just had a very determined mindset,'' the Storm's Sue Bird said, ''much more intensity than we came out with. And with that, loose balls go your way. You've got aggressive people making shots. For us, we just never really amped it up.''


Another Mercury win on Sunday and the series would face a winner-take-all Game 5 Tuesday night in Seattle.


''Being down 0-2 to the best team in the league - not easy,'' Phoenix's Diana Taurasi said after the team went through a light workout on Saturday. ''But we took on the challenge and tomorrow's going to be just as difficult. Hopefully we bring that same effort.''


Yvonne Turner will be in the Mercury starting lineup for the second game in a row as Stephanie Talbot goes through the concussion protocol. Coach Sandy Brondello said she was hopeful Talbot would be back if there's a Game 5.


With Taurasi having a rare off night offensively, Turner emerged as a surprise star with 19 points. DeWanna Bonner had 27 points and 11 rebounds and Brittney Griner had 21 points and 11 boards for the Mercury.


Seattle got 19 points from Natasha Howard and 15 points and 11 rebounds from league MVP Breanna Stewart but lost its eighth consecutive playoff road game dating to 2011.


''I thought their energy was immediate and consistent,'' Storm coach Dan Hughes said. ''And I think it's about learning. Our team has all year I think learn things. You can talk about the environment and what the sense of urgency that Phoenix was going to have. But now we saw it. And so we have to be a team that learns something from that experience as to what now we have to do.''


Shoot better, would be one thing. The Storm shot 37 percent (29-of-79). Their 66 points were their second-lowest total of the season.


Taurasi said it's a great sign to see her team win when she wasn't that involved offensively, making just 3 of 11 shots and scoring eight points.


''It's huge,'' she said, ''and that feels good. I think it feels good for our group. It feels good for a lot of people on this team. Sometimes you need someone else to pull you through the hole.''


Turner's presence as essentially a second playmaker on the floor energized the Mercury. It was a breakout game for a player who built a reputation in Europe before finally getting a chance in the WNBA.


''She can do that,'' Brondello said. ''I think it helps any player when they start. It just really does. She's a great little player, a great little competitor. She does it every game over in Europe so it's good to see her get that opportunity and play really well.''


Seattle had the WNBA's best regular-season record at 26-8. The Storm waited while Phoenix survived a pair of one-game playoffs against Dallas and Connecticut. The Storm won the season series with Phoenix 2-1. Seattle won twice in Phoenix, the Mercury once in Seattle.


''Of course we'd love to win tomorrow,'' Bird said, ''and they're going to be literally dying to win. So it's just going to be another tough game. It was physical yesterday. The refs let us play.


''I don't know. You don't want to analyze too much. You have an identity as a team and that's what got you here and you want to stick to that as much as possible while being smart and making the adjustments that you have to make.''


The Atlanta Dream lead the Washington Mystics 2-1 in the other best-of-five semifinal series with their Game 4 also on Sunday.




***************************




Dream have visions of eliminating Mystics
The Associated Press


WASHINGTON -- The Atlanta Dream are one win from their fourth trip to the WNBA finals and first since 2013.


Standing in their way are the Washington Mystics, who may not have their best player for Game 4 on Sunday afternoon at George Washington University's Smith Center.


The second-seeded Dream took a 2-1 series lead with an 81-76 victory over the third-seeded Mystics on Friday night. Tiffany Hayes had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead visiting Atlanta, Brittney Sykes scored 17 points and Elizabeth Williams added 14.


Washington was without All-Star Elena Delle Donne, who suffered a bone bruise in her left knee in the closing moments of Game 2. Delle Donne sat out Saturday's practice, receiving treatment in hopes of helping the Mystics force a Game 5. She is averaging 26 points and 13 rebounds in the playoffs.


"Yeah, I think she's going to thug it out, especially with an elimination game," guard Natasha Cloud told the Washington Post. "She's a soldier. She's going to try. We'll see how it goes, but that's up to her, a game-time decision."


The Mystics are 1-4 this regular season and postseason in games without Delle Donne.


Washington coach Mike Thibault juggled his lineup Friday night, using four guards for much of the game. The lead changed hands 14 times in the first three quarters, but the Dream led throughout the fourth. Sykes' 3-pointer made it 77-66 with 2:38 remaining and the Mystics got no closer than five points the rest of the way.


Atlanta improved to 18-0 this season when taking a lead into the fourth quarter.


"This team knows how to win games late," Dream coach Nicki Collen told ESPN.com. "When you get into tight situations, there's rarely much panic with this group."


Aerial Powers came off the bench to lead Washington with 18 points and Ariel Atkins added 17. Washington shot 36 percent from the field and hit only 5 of 23 from beyond the arc.


"You can either feel sorry for yourself and just show up," Thibault told the Post regarding his message to the team, "or you can build on the good stuff from (Friday) night and shoot the ball a little better and get a win and go back (to Atlanta) and play a Game 5."


That would include Mystics guard Kristi Tolliver, who was held to seven points on 3-of-15 shooting (1 of 9 from 3-point range) by the Dream in Game 3.


"Me and (Alex) Bentley take turns (on Toliver)," Hayes told ESPN.com. "It gets us tired because she's all over the place. I can take a break when I'm tired and Bentley comes in and she takes a break when I'm in the game. It's good to have two people that have great defense on her at all times."


Atlanta is no stranger to adversity. They've been playing without All-Star forward Angel McCoughtry, who suffered a knee injury Aug. 7.

 

[CNOTES]

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


ATL at WAS 12:00 PM
ATL +2.5
O 160.0


SEA at PHO 11:00 PM
SEA +3.0
U 170.5

 

[CNOTES]

Delle Donne's return fuels Mystics's 97-76 rout over Dream
By By BENJAMIN STANDIG


WASHINGTON (AP) Elena Delle Donne wasn't about to let a knee injury sideline her again with the Washington Mystics season at stake.


She had 15 points and 10 rebounds in her return from a bone bruise in her left knee and the Mystics forced a decisive Game 5 with a 97-76 win over the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA semifinal series.


Delle Donne started, played 34 minutes, sank 3 of 5 three-point attempts and scored 11 points in the second half after sitting out Friday's 81-76 loss. She suffered the injury in the final minutes of Atlanta's 78-75 Game 2 victory.


''I would have killed coach (Mike Thibault) if he didn't let me play full out,'' Delle Donne said. ''He knows. I gave him the look and he knew I was fully ready to go and wanted to be in there as much as I could.''


The 2015 WNBA Most Valuable Player award winner sported a bulky brace on her left knee. She failed to score until less than four minutes remained in the first half, but her presence immediately helped open the floor for teammates. Washington shot 50 percent from the field overall and sank 12 of 26 from beyond the 3-point arc.


''Whether Delly is on crutches, it doesn't matter. If she's on the floor, they have to respect her and honor her,'' Kristi Toliver said. ''That changes everything for everyone.''


Toliver led the Mystics with 22 points as all five starters scored in double figures. Ariel Atkins scored 19 points, Natasha Cloud 13 and LaToya Sanders 10.


''Elena Delle Donne, she kind of sucks you in (defensively),'' Dream guard Renee Montgomery said, ''but they caught fire.''


Tiffany Hayes, Montgomery, Brittney Sykes and Jessica Breland each scored 12 points for the Dream.


The series shifts back to Atlanta for the finale of the best-of-5 series on Tuesday. The Mystics have never reached the WNBA finals in the franchise's 21 seasons.


Atlanta remains one victory away from the franchise's fourth finals appearance and first since 2013.


While Washington welcomed the return of its best player, Atlanta remains without All-Star forward Angel McCoughtry, who suffered a knee injury Aug. 7 against Las Vegas. It also still has home-court advantage for the decisive game. The Dream, who closed the regular season winning 16 of 19 games, haven't lost two games in a row since June 27-29.


''If you told me in February or May or June, even in early July that we would have one game with a chance to go to the Finals I'd be pretty excited,'' Atlanta coach Nicki Collen said. ''I certainly told (the players) we have to learn from this game, but we also have to flush. We've built up too much momentum to hang our heads.''


The Mystics raced out to a 26-12 lead in the second quarter and entered halftime up 44-35. Toliver, who had only seven points on 3 of 15 shooting in Game 3 topped all scorers with 12 points in the first half.


Delle Donne's second 3-pointer stifled Atlanta's momentum after the Dream's 10-0 run cut Washington's lead to 62-57 with 2:04 left in the third. Washington pulled away with a 22-7 run starting the fourth quarter for its largest lead at 90-67.


''No one had to be Superwoman, but we just needed to get a little bit smarter and get back to getting stops,'' Delle Donne said as the postgame press conference ended. Toliver spoke up leaving the dais.


''But we got our Superwoman back.''


TIP-INS

Toliver and Cloud, Washington's starting backcourt, combined to make 13 of 26 shots after finishing 4 of 22 in Game 3. ... The Mystics outrebounded the Dream 40-31 . Atlanta shot 14 of 25 on free throws. ... Washington turned Atlanta's nine first-half turnovers into 12 points while the Dream scored one point off the Mystics' eight miscues.


WHAT'S NEXT


The teams split the first two games in Atlanta, though Washington held a double-digit lead in Game 2 before losing. Delle Donne averaged 29.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in Atlanta.




*****************************




Griner, Mercury rally to beat Storm, force deciding Game 5
By By BOB BAUM


PHOENIX (AP) Four times this postseason, the Phoenix Mercury have faced elimination.


They've won all four and now it's on to Seattle for another one.


Brittney Griner provided the deciding offense and necessary defense in the final seconds as the Mercury beat the Seattle Storm 86-84 on Sunday to force a deciding Game 5 in their WNBA semifinal series.


The 6-foot-9 center scored on a short hook shot with 14.1 seconds to play then prevented Breanna Stewart from getting a shot off before the buzzer as the Mercury rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the Storm in Phoenix for the second straight time.


The Mercury had to survive single-elimination games against Dallas and Connecticut just to get to the Storm, then fell down 0-2 with a pair of losses in Seattle.


''It's the team that shows a lot of heart in every single one of these games,'' Griner said. ''Doing whatever it is, whoever it is at the time. At different points of time different people step up and make big plays, hustle plays. I think that's what's giving us that edge right now.''


Griner had 29 points and 12 rebounds and DeWanna Bonner scored 21 of her 27 in the second half.


Game 5 will be Tuesday night in Seattle. Diana Taurasi, who had 16 points, is 13-0 in her WNBA playoff career in winner-take-all games.


The other semifinal series, between Atlanta and Washington, also has gone to a Game 5.


The Storm lost Sue Bird with a broken nose with 4:23 left in the third quarter when she took an accidental elbow to the face from Stewart. Bird, who has broken her nose five times, said she will play in Game 5.


''I think they lost their leader,'' Bonner said. ''However, for her going out, they still played great basketball. They were still making shots. ... They lost a big part of their puzzle but they still played great basketball. They only lost by two points.'''


Stewart, the WNBA's MVP, led Seattle with 22 points.


Griner's winning basket came after Bonner missed and Phoenix's Camille Little grabbed the rebound. Little got the ball to Griner, who scored. The Storm worked the ball to Stewart at the end but she couldn't get a shot off against Griner's defense.


''The initial play we wanted to run kind of broke down early,'' Stewart said, ''and then we were just playing on the fly. Being under the basket with B.G. on you is a tough shot. Still, I should have gotten a shot off just because it was the last play of the game.''


Griner noted she'd fouled Stewart on a 3-point shot a few moments earlier.


''I had to do something to make it up,'' she said. ''We knew the ball was going to go to into Stewart's hands and we had to play defense, don't foul, try not to let her score and tie it up to go to overtime. ... I stayed there and kept my hands up high.''


Phoenix trailed by 17 in the first half, 16 early in the second and still was down 69-57 after Stewart sank a 19-footer with 1:27 left in the third quarter. But the Mercury responded with a 13-2 run. Taurasi sank a 3 with 3.6 seconds left to cut the lead to 71-66 entering the fourth quarter and Bonner's basket sliced the deficit to 71-70 with 8:40 to play.


Griner's basket tied it at 76-76 and Bonner's two free throws put Phoenix up 78-76 with 5:29 to play, the Mercury's first lead since the game's opening moments.


''They got some real offensive weapons and when they're playing at a high level and they are very assertive, they're hard to stop,'' Seattle coach Dan Hughes said.


Coach Sandy Brondello said the team got its offense going when she moved Bonner from the ''four'' to the ''three'' position.


''She's been great for us at the four, but I moved her to the three and put the ball in her hands and she got aggressive,'' Brondello said.


TIP-INS


Storm: Seattle shot 72 percent in the first quarter (13-of-18), including 3-pointers by four different players. ... The Storm has lost consecutive games for the first time this season. ... After a franchise postseason record 31 points in the first quarter, the Storm had 31 in the entire second half, including 13 in the fourth,


Mercury: Phoenix is first team to force a Game 5 in a best-of-five format after trailing 0-2. ... Taurasi is 50-7 in elimination games including the WNBA, Olympics and NCAA competition. ... Mercury have outscored the Storm in the fourth quarter in the series 94-47.


SHE SAID IT: ''She's very picky about her nose. When you have a nose like mine, you don't (care),'' Taurasi said. ''When you have a face like Sue, I would worry, too.''


UP NEXT

The teams meet Tuesday night in the deciding Game 5.

 

[CNOTES]

SEMIFINALS


Seattle vs Phoenix
Sun, Aug. 26: Seattle 91, Phoenix 87
Tue, Aug. 28: Seattle 91, Phoenix 87
Fri, Aug. 31: Phoenix 86, Seattle 66
Sun, Sep. 2: Phoenix 86, Seattle 84
Tue, Sep. 4: Phoenix at Seattle – GM5 (10 PM ET, ESPNews/NBA TV)


Atlanta vs Washington
Sun, Aug. 26: Washington 87, Atlanta 84
Tue, Aug. 28: Atlanta 78, Washington 75
Fri, Aug. 31: Atlanta 81, Washington 76
Sun, Sep. 2: Washington 97, Atlanta 76
Tue, Sep. 4: Washington at Atlanta – GM5 (8 PM ET, ESPN2)




*********************
WNBA SEMI'S BEST BETS:


09/02/2018 3-1-0 75.00% +950

 

[CNOTES]

Monday’s six-pack


Interesting pointspreads for next weekend’s college football games:


— Mississippi State (-7.5) @ Kansas State


— Georgia (-9.5) @ South Carolina


— Colorado @ Nebraska (-4.5)


— Clemson (-11.5) vs Texas A&M


— Penn State (-8) @ Pittsburgh


— USC @ Stanford (-3.5)


Quote of the Day
“I like both guys, they both are really good players, quit trying to get me to say something negative about one of these guys”
Nick Saban, talking about his top two QB’s after Saturday night’s rout of Louisville


Monday’s quiz
Who was the last team the Browns beat in a regular season game?


Sunday’s quiz
Robert Griffin III was the Browns’ QB last time they won a regular season game, in 2016.


Saturday’s quiz
Norv Turner was the Chargers’ coach last time they finished 1st (or tied for 1st) in AFC West.




*********************




Monday’s List of 13: Wrapping up a sports weekend…….


13) NFL happenings:
— Giants waived backup QB Davis Webb, claimed an NFL-high six players off waivers, three of whom are defensive backs. Webb was a 3rd-round draft pick LY.
— Denver Broncos dumped QB Paxton Lynch, their first round pick two years ago. Broncos also cut four of their eight draft picks from 2017.


12) Football writer Gary Myers posted Sunday that new Giants coach Pat Shurmur was steamed that Webb never got to play in an NFL game LY, so he could see him play on tape, in real action.


Shurmur can thank his current starting QB for that development.


Of the 53 players on the Giants’ roster, 27 of them weren’t Giants LY, 26 of them were.


11) Saturday was the first college football Saturday with legalized wagering in Mississippi, and the GoldStrong MGM hotel in Tunica was sold out- the lines in the sportsbook were out into the lobby. They only have 4 or 5 windows for betting.


10) PGA Tour was in Boston last week; golfer Patrick Reed got some free tickets to the Red Sox game at Fenway, then had the onions to complain about them, saying the tickets were “..…in the line drive section” He’s not the most likable guy.


9) Astros have surprisingly lost Justin Verlander’s last five home starts.


8) Thru his first 177 major league at-bats, Padres rookie Franmil Reyes had 13 homers, but only 19 RBI. That is hard to do.


He is hitting .298 with the bases empty, .161 (9 for 56) with men on base.


7) Now that Aaron Donald has a contract with $87M in guarantees, he’s going to get his mother to quit her job driving a bus, which she’s done for the last 20 years.


6) Peter Alonso has 35 homers, 117 RBI in the minor leagues this season, splitting time between AA and AAA- he hit .314 in the Eastern League, is hitting .261 in the PCL.


Why won’t the Mets bring him up? Shouldn’t they promote productive players?


5) Good luck to Sam the Bugler, who is retiring after 25 years of calling horses onto the track at New York racetracks. Sam Grossman is the guy’s real name; he actually has a bobblehead that the NYRA gave out to fans a few years ago.


4) Dodger bullpen hasn’t helped Clayton Kershaw much this season; they’re 11-10 in his starts this year, but they’re 13-6-2 in the first five innings of those starts.


3) New England Patriots obviously dominate the AFC East; they’ve won that lame division 17 years in a row, but Patriots have lost four of their last five visits to Miami.


2) If your kid is in college and wants to be a sports broadcaster, tell him to study hard- there is a young man at Syracuse doing SU football games— Ian Eagle’s son, and he’s going to get a job before your kid does. Very difficult to become a professional announcer— lot of times you need serious connections, just to get your foot in the door.


If you’re lucky enough to get your foot in the door, you best be really good, to keep your job.


1) Apparently Aretha Franklin didn’t have a will, so the wrangling over her estate is going to be drawn out; she was worth millions, and has four sons. As usual, there will be lawyers.

 

[CNOTES]

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack


Over/under totals on number of TD passes thrown this season:


33.5— Aaron Rodgers


32.5— Tom Brady


28— Ben Roethlisberger


27— Jared Goff


26.5— Brees, Rivers, Stafford, Watson


25.5— Cousins, Prescott, Wilson


**********


Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Things I learned while watching way too much TV


13) Texas Tech’s marching band was the first marching band to to travel to its school’s road football games, way back in 1925.


12) Actor Dennis Quaid is left-handed; he was a quarterback in Any Given Sunday, a relief pitcher in The Rookie.


11) Since he became the starter ten years ago, Green Bay is 94-48 when Aaron Rodgers starts for them; they’re 6-11-1 in games he’s missed.


10) Pittsburgh’s Joe Musgrove began Thursday’s game with 21 consecutive strikes, the most by any starting pitcher to begin a game since pitches were first tracked in 1988.


9) There are 48 college football games this season where the visiting team is getting a guarantee of at least $1M. At the highest level, college sports is very big business.


8) There is a movie called Owning Mahowny that is about a bank manager with:
(a) a gambling problem and
(b) access to a multimillion dollar bank account;


The movie is based on the true story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian history. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Minnie Driver.


7) Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich is the first player with a cycle, a 5th hit and an outfield assist all in the same game since Andre Dawson on April 29, 1987. Yelich had his big night Wednesday in Cincinnati.


6) Baltimore Ravens have won their last 14 preseason games; they’re also 21-27 in the regular season the last three years, haven’t made the playoffs since 2014.


5) Now I feel old: Trent Green’s son is the backup QB at Northwestern.


4) Something is amiss with the Red Sox’ front office; David Howard, who has been Boston’s minor league field coordinator for nine years, has been fired- no word on why. Odd timing.


3) The other night in Fenway Park, Red Sox scored 11 runs in an inning; Andrew Benitendi made the first out of the inning with a sacrifice bunt, then ended the inning by grounding into a double play. Research Doug Kern looked this up, and says that has never happened before in the big leagues.


2) Friday night’s Detroit-New York baseball game was first one this year where both managers were ejected. Ejections have to be way down since instant replay became a thing.


1) There are 24 grad transfer QB’s in college football this season, which means a kid got his degree at one school, wasn’t happy with his playing situation and went elsewhere to finish his college career.

 

[CNOTES]

WNBA
Dunkel


Tuesday, September 4



Washington @ Atlanta


Game 611-612
September 4, 2018 @ 8:00 pm


Dunkel Rating:
Washington
118.101
Atlanta
113.141
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
157
by 5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 2 1/2
164 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-2 1/2); Under


Phoenix @ Seattle


Game 609-610
September 4, 2018 @ 10:00 pm


Dunkel Rating:
Phoenix
112.008
Seattle
117.993
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Seattle
by 6
176
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Seattle
by 4
170 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Seattle
(-4); Over








WNBA


Tuesday, September 4


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Washington Mystics
Washington is 2-4-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Washington is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games
Washington is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Washington is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Washington is 2-4-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games when playing Atlanta
Washington is 3-7-2 ATS in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Washington is 6-13 SU in its last 19 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Atlanta Dream
Atlanta is 17-3-1 ATS in its last 21 games
Atlanta is 17-4 SU in its last 21 games
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Atlanta's last 18 games
Atlanta is 5-0-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Atlanta is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Atlanta's last 20 games at home
Atlanta is 4-7-2 ATS in its last 13 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 6 games when playing Washington
Atlanta is 2-3-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Washington
Atlanta is 13-6 SU in its last 19 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing at home against Washington




Phoenix Mercury
Phoenix is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Phoenix is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Phoenix's last 9 games
Phoenix is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Phoenix is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Phoenix's last 8 games on the road
Phoenix is 16-7 ATS in its last 23 games when playing Seattle
Phoenix is 16-7 SU in its last 23 games when playing Seattle
Phoenix is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Seattle
Phoenix is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Seattle
Phoenix is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Phoenix's last 8 games when playing on the road against Seattle
Seattle Storm
Seattle is 16-7 ATS in its last 23 games
Seattle is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Seattle is 18-5 SU in its last 23 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 7 games
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Seattle's last 12 games at home
Seattle is 7-16 ATS in its last 23 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 7-16 SU in its last 23 games when playing Phoenix
Seattle is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Seattle is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Phoenix
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Seattle's last 8 games when playing at home against Phoenix

 

[CNOTES]

B]Mystics-Dream series comes down to decisive Game 5
The Associated Press[/B]


The WNBA best-of-five semifinal series between Washington and Atlanta has lived up to its potential, delivering a little of everything in four games played during the past week -- great defense, back-and-forth action, heroic performances, and an offensive eruption by the Mystics that pushed the teams into a win-or-go-home matchup.


That fifth game will be at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta on Tuesday and the winner will advance to the league finals to face Seattle or Phoenix, who will also play a fifth and deciding game on Tuesday.


The Mystics forced a fifth game with a 97-76 rout of the Dream on Sunday afternoon in Washington. All-Star forward Elena Delle Donne, who missed Game 3 of the series with a left knee bone bruise, returned to pour in 15 points and grab 10 rebounds for Washington.


Kristi Toliver led Washington with 22 points and rookie Ariel Atkins added 19. Natasha Cloud scored 13 and LaToya Sanders had 10 points as the Mystics shot 50 percent from the field.


"Obviously, it's a nice present to see her in uniform ready to go," Washington coach Mike Thibault said of Delle Donne. "She just gives everybody else around her confidence that we kind of got this, that we have the best player in the game on the court. And that helps a lot mentally."


The Mystics put away the Dream via a 22-7 run at the beginning of the fourth quarter after Atlanta had cut Washington's advantage to five points late in the third quarter.


Delle Donne's participation in the series finale will be a game-time decision, the team said, but expect to see the Mystics' "Superwoman" on the court.


Tiffany Hayes, Renee Montgomery, Brittney Sykes and Jessica Breland each scored 12 points for the Dream in Game 4.


"Our mindset is to just to fix our mistakes that we made in this game, look back on it, how can we do better, how can we stick together and bounce back and have a completely different mindset going into the next game and to win," Dream forward Monique Billings said.


Atlanta has home-court advantage for the decisive game, and in a series that has been so evenly played, that could be a huge difference-maker. The Dream, who closed the regular season winning 16 of their final 19 games, haven't lost two in a row since June 27-29.


Atlanta has grabbed 158 rebounds in the four games against Washington, which is a franchise best for a playoff series.


"If you told me in February or May or June, even in early July that we would have one game with a chance to go to the Finals I'd be pretty excited," Atlanta coach Nicki Collen said after the Game 4 loss. "I certainly told (the players) we have to learn from this game, but we also have to flush. We've built up too much momentum to hang our heads."


The teams split the first two games in Atlanta, with the Dream fighting back from a double-digit deficit to win Game 2. Delle Donne averaged 29.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in the first two games.

 

[CNOTES]

Mercury, Storm meet in Game 5 for trip to finals
The Associated Press

As the Seattle Storm quickly learned, you can never count out Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury.


Behind Taurasi, Brittney Griner and DeWanna Bonner, who combined for 72 points, the Mercury rallied from a 17-point deficit Sunday to defeat the top-seeded Storm 86-84, forcing a decisive Game 5 in their WNBA semifinal series Tuesday night in Seattle.


"We protected our house, that was our goal," Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. "We're just very excited that we get to play a fifth game. Obviously, it's on Seattle's home court, but we have played well away from home this year. We'll go in there and put on a good showing and may the best team win."


The Mercury became the first team in league history to force a Game 5 after dropping the first two games of a series. The Storm suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this season.


"It's been a very equal series, which you would expect because the teams are so familiar with each other," Storm coach Dan Hughes said. "But we worked all year to get a chance to play Game 5 at home, so we'll value that."


Storm point guard Sue Bird left Sunday's game with 4:23 left in the first half after suffering a broken nose, the result of an inadvertent elbow from teammate Breanna Stewart, the league's MVP. It was the fifth time Bird has broken her nose in her pro career.


"She's obviously the brain of that team and she kind of makes them go," Taurasi said of Bird, her former UConn teammate. "It was a matter of just buckling down and knowing if we didn't play well, the season was going to be over. They brought their best effort; I think we did too. It comes down to making a couple of plays at the end of the game and we did that (Sunday)."


The Mercury have done that all series. They've outscored the Storm 94-47 in the fourth quarter of the first four games.


The Storm had a 16-point lead in the opener and a 17-point lead in Game 2, both in Seattle, before holding on for 91-87 victories, the latter in overtime.


"These series, they are a grind because you're seeing the same people, the same plays, and it becomes a mind game. ... The momentum seems to be in their favor, and we're going to have to figure out how to switch that back to us," said Bird, who vowed to play in Game 5, albeit likely with a facemask.