A note on how this works: until our picks model ships, the only game carrying a Vegas line here is the marquee. Everything else is a straight preview. The full slate, with live tip times and where to watch, lives at watch.uristocrat.com.
The headliner is easy tonight. It's Game 2 of the NBA Finals, and the rest of the board is a deep Friday of baseball plus one good WNBA matchup. Here's where to point the remote.
Marquee: Knicks at Spurs, NBA Finals Game 2 (8:30 PM ET, ABC)
New York stole Game 1 in San Antonio, 105-95, behind 30 from Jalen Brunson, 13 of them in the fourth quarter. The Spurs now face the math no team wants: lose tonight and the series goes to New York at 0-2 with the next two on the road. Victor Wembanyama waved off the panic after Game 1, saying he isn't worried, and San Antonio's 62-win regular season says they have earned the benefit of the doubt at home. The question is whether they can slow Brunson in the half court without leaving Wembanyama on an island. Vegas thinks they figure it out for one night.
Vegas line: Spurs -5.5, total 215.5, moneyline Spurs -218 / Knicks +180 (ESPN).
Also tonight
- Red Sox at Yankees (7:05 PM ET). The rivalry at the Stadium, but without its biggest name. Aaron Judge is listed out, which reshapes the whole Yankees lineup and gives Boston a real opening in the opener of the set.
- Brewers at Rockies (8:40 PM ET, ESPN). The national MLB window lands at Coors Field, where the ball flies and the scoreboard rarely sleeps. Milwaukee brings the better roster, but Coors has a way of erasing pitching edges.
- Sun at Sky (7:30 PM ET, ION). Connecticut visits Chicago in the night's marquee WNBA game. Two rebuilding rosters trying to find an identity early in the season, with national eyes on ION.
- Mets at Padres (9:40 PM ET). San Diego is without Yu Darvish, so the Mets get a softer path through the rotation in a series opener at Petco. A good late-night West Coast watch.
- Angels at Dodgers (10:10 PM ET). The Freeway Series under the lights at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles is the class of the league, and the Angels are the kind of opponent that makes for a relaxed Friday in Chavez Ravine.
- Giants at Cubs (2:20 PM ET). The early one. Afternoon baseball at Wrigley on Marquee, the game to have on before the night slate fills up.
Friday belongs to San Antonio. If the Spurs hold serve and even the Finals at one apiece, this becomes a series. If Brunson goes off again, New York heads home with a chokehold. Everything else tonight is the soundtrack to that.
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