The morning line

MLB The headliner is the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park — at 36-18 they are the class of tonight's slate, though the Boston Red Sox have jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and the Braves' heart of the order needs to get into the starter's stuff before this turns into a bullpen game. Over at PNC Park, the Pittsburgh Pirates already have the Chicago Cubs' manager reaching for the phone in the bottom of the first, with Pittsburgh putting up five early and the Cubs needing their pen to eat innings on what shapes up as a long, ugly night. The marquee game still to come is the New York Yankees rolling into Kauffman Stadium against the Kansas City Royals — New York is a heavy favorite at -205, so the real question is whether Kansas City can scratch enough runs together to make the late innings interesting rather than just a formality.

NBA Tonight the San Antonio Spurs ride into Paycom Center to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in what's shaping up to be the game of the year — the two best records in basketball going head-to-head, with the Thunder sitting at 64-18 and getting the edge at home as 3.5-point favorites. The Spurs at 62-20 have been eating opponents up all season though, and they didn't rack up that record to come in here and take the L. With the over/under parked at 217.5, expect both teams pouring in buckets from everywhere on the floor — this is a must-watch.

NHL The marquee game on tonight's slate is the Colorado Avalanche visiting the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena — Colorado comes in with one of the best records in hockey and will be looking to assert themselves in the slot early, but Vegas is notoriously hard to beat on home ice and their penalty kill has been a real weapon all season. Watch for the Golden Knights to try to force Colorado into the box and work the power play, because if they can get traffic in the crease and generate some greasy goals, this series gets interesting in a hurry. Tomorrow night the Carolina Hurricanes head to the Bell Centre to face the Montreal Canadiens, and with an over/under of just 5.5 the oddsmakers are calling a goaltending battle — both teams are built around defensive structure, so if you like low-event, high-tension hockey where a top-shelf snipe with three minutes left in the third decides everything, that one is worth staying up for.

WNBA The marquee matchup tonight is Atlanta Dream at Minnesota Lynx — the Dream come in at 4-1 and are actually laying 2.5 on the road at Target Center, so there's real respect for what Atlanta's been doing this year. New York Liberty host the Phoenix Mercury at Barclays in the early window; the Liberty are favored by 5.5 but the Mercury are hungry and could make it ugly in the paint. Keep an eye on that Dream-Lynx total of 163.5 — both squads have been getting buckets, and a close fourth quarter with two hot teams could get loud fast.