The morning line

MLB The marquee game on today's slate is the Los Angeles Dodgers visiting the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park — the Dodgers are running away with the best record in baseball at 43-24 and the Pirates, sitting right at .500, are the kind of scrappy club that could make things interesting if they can keep the heart of that Dodgers order quiet through the middle innings. Also worth watching is the Atlanta Braves taking the field against the Chicago White Sox tonight: the Braves are the hottest team in the game at 45-22, so the question isn't whether their starters get deep into games but whether the bullpen can stay fresh across a long road trip. And keep an eye on the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field — that over/under is sitting at 12, which tells you the books expect both starters to give up the yard early and often in that thin Denver air.

NBA The marquee game tonight is the San Antonio Spurs rolling into Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks on ABC, and the stakes couldn't be higher given the Spurs' ridiculous 62-20 record — best in the league. Vegas still has the Knicks as 2.5-point home favorites, because MSG is its own animal and the Knicks have been putting up buckets in the paint all season, but San Antonio has been an absolute clinic on both ends of the floor. Watch for whether the Spurs can keep doing what they do on the road against a crowd that will be absolutely unhinged from tip-off.

NHL Tonight's marquee matchup has the Vegas Golden Knights skating into Lenovo Center to face the Carolina Hurricanes, with Carolina sitting as a solid -155 favorite behind one of the best defensive structures in the league this season. The Hurricanes finished the regular year at 53-22-7, meaning they can lock down the crease and suffocate teams through relentless forechecking, while Vegas brings a Golden Knights squad that has seen 17 overtime results this season — a team that knows how to survive to a one-goal game late in the third. Watch the power play battle closely, because Carolina's penalty kill has been stifling all year and if Vegas can't convert on the man advantage when it matters, the Hurricanes will be tough to beat on home ice.

WNBA The marquee matchup tonight is the New York Liberty visiting the Atlanta Dream — two of the hottest teams in the league squaring off, with Atlanta sitting at 8-3 and the Liberty right behind them at 8-4, so somebody's taking an L in the standings race. The Las Vegas Aces, the other elite squad on the slate, head to Portland to take on the Fire as 9.5-point favorites, so watch for the Aces to put on an absolute clinic in the paint. Don't sleep on Chicago Sky at Indiana Fever either — the Fever are giving nearly ten points against a Sky squad that's been struggling, and in this league that spread can evaporate fast.