Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury visit the WNBA defending champion Sparks on Tuesday night. This will mark game 1 of the semifinals series involving these two Western Conference squads. The winner of the best-of-five game series moves on to play either the Mystics or Lynx. As the No. 2 seed, Los Angeles has high expectations that they can repeat as champions. Phoenix, which has multiple championships as well, will look for a major upset on the road. Here's the latest WNBA game preview with matchup odds, game time, TV channel, and live stream feed options.

Playoffs game preview

The Phoenix Mercury arrive at this stage of the WNBA Playoffs after a 79-69 win over the Seattle Storm in the first round, and a follow-up victory over No. 4 seed Connecticut. In their 88-83 win against the Sun, the league's leading scorer Brittney Griner had 26 points and nine rebounds. The league's all-time points leader Diana Taurasi had 23 points and four assists. By defeating Connecticut, Phoenix makes its ninth appearance in the semifinals round in 11 years.

L.A. earned the No. 2 seed for this year's WNBA playoffs with their 26-8 record in the regular season. The defending champions finished just a game behind the top spot in the WNBA standings and own the league's best home record at 16-1.

The L.A. Sparks also enter this matchup having won their last seven games to finish out the season. Former league MVPs Nneka Ogwumike and Candace Parker will look to lead the way to a 1-0 start after Game 1 has settled tonight.

L.A. enters tonight's home game as 8.5 point favorites on the spread. L.A. is a -450 favorite, while the visiting Phoenix Mercury are +350 underdogs.

Right now, the over/under points total is 156 points for the game. Los Angeles holds a 7-3 head-to-head record against Phoenix over their last ten meetings between the two franchises.

How to watch it live

Tuesday night's playoff semifinals game will have a 10 p.m. Eastern Time start. Live television coverage will be made available through the ESPN2 channel.

Cable and satellite viewers who have ESPN2 should be able to watch the game live streaming online through WatchESPN apps or web portal.

SlingTV customers can also watch the game live streaming on ESPN2 if they have Sling Orange. Anyone with a hi-speed internet connection who wants a free option to see tonight's game should consider the one-week free trial of Sling Orange at the Sling.com website.
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