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Portland (3-3) at New York (3-3)
- When: May 25 2026, 8:00 PM
- Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA
- TV: Peacock
Portland vs New York Preview & Prediction
Spread: New York -12.5
Moneyline: New York (-700)
Total: 176.5
Portland Fire: Enjoying Their Villain Era
Apparently expansion teams woke up recently and decided they no longer believe in being polite.
Portland enters New York with a perfectly respectable 3-3 record and already owns a win over the Liberty earlier this month. That victory included Sarah Ashlee Barker hitting a game-winning put-back at the buzzer, which probably still randomly appears in Liberty fans’ nightmares around 3 a.m.
Bridget Carleton has also fully embraced her role as basketball’s annoying cousin at the family barbecue. She torched New York for 26 points in the first meeting before the Liberty finally remembered defensive scouting reports two days later and held her to 11.
The Fire clearly don’t care about expectations. They play hard, push pace, and seem genuinely delighted ruining evenings for established teams. Honestly, that’s a dangerous personality trait for an expansion roster.
Portland now walks into Madison Square Garden with absolutely nothing to lose, which is usually when underdogs become terrifying.
New York Liberty: Suddenly Feeling Pressure
Meanwhile, the Liberty are discovering that “future dynasty” conversations become awkward when you lose back-to-back games at home.
New York opened this seven-game homestand expecting domination and instead got punched by Golden State and Dallas. Apparently every expansion team now views the Liberty like a giant “please upset us” billboard.
The good news is New York finally reunited Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally, which sounds like a superhero crossover movie WNBA fans have waited years to see. Sabally immediately dropped 20 points Sunday while Ionescu returned from her foot injury and admitted she probably came back earlier than expected.
That sentence definitely inspires confidence.
Still, talent eventually matters, and New York has significantly more of it than Portland across the roster. The Liberty also know another home loss would officially launch sports-radio panic mode across the city.
Which honestly feels dramatic this early in the season, but this is New York. Someone is probably already blaming traffic.
If Ionescu looks healthier and Sabally continues settling into the offense, the Liberty should finally resemble the powerhouse everybody expected entering the year.
LVSB Final Score Prediction
Portland should compete hard early because that’s simply what expansion teams do now apparently. But New York’s star power and desperation spot at home feel too strong to ignore.
The Liberty finally snap the skid while covering late behind a huge second half.
Final Score: Liberty 98, Fire 82
Lean: New York -12.5
Total: Over 176.5
- NBA Playoffs Odds source: Bovada Sportsbook
