Basketball On The Internet.

LOSING at home to open a Championship series is never a good idea as Minnesota found out the hard way last year against Indiana.

So the Lynx were taking no prisoners today as they belted Atlanta Dream 84-59 in Minneapolis to take a 1-0 lead in the WNBA Final Series.

Maya Moore had 23 points, with three 3-pointers in the first period to underpin their raging start.

Moore shot at 63 per cent and hauled down seven boards, Seimone Augustus adding 19 points as Minnesota led the whole way.

The Nightmare were 0-of-15 from beyond the 3-point arc.

“I think we're setting ourselves up for success,” one-time Dandenong Rangers guard Monica Wright said.

Wright had 20 points, also teaming with Rebekkah Brunson to harass WNBA scoring champ Angel McCoughtry.

Angel was a demonesque 6-of-24 from the floor, scoring 17 points, with five turnovers.

“Everybody has cold days. This is a cold day,” McCoughtry said. Yes. A cold day in hell for Angel.

Game 2 is in Minnesota again on Wednesday morning, Australian time, and if Minnesota goes to Atlanta ahead 2-0, it is tough to see the Dream winning the three straight games they would need to steal the best-of-five Final.

Clearly, losing in four games last year to the Fever did not sit well with Moore and her support cast which went on a 15-0 second quarter run to storm away.

Just before the buzzer to end the third, Augustus hit a 3-pointer to blow the margin out to 68-43, pivoting and pumping her fist in celebration.

Rachel Jarry – looking to emulate Erin Phillips last year and become another Aussie to be part of a WNBA championship team – played 5:20 but had a hat-trick of negatives with one missed shot, one foul and one turnover. She did grab two defensive boards though.
 

BRETT Brown’s Philadelphia 76ers have produced a win, albeit an international one over Spain’s Bilbao Basket in Bilbao.

But the Sixers only got out of trouble when under-performing 216cm centre Spencer Hawes hit a pair of free throws to create the 106-104 scoreline with just under 5 seconds left.

Bilbao's Raul Lopez, a former NBA guard, missed a 3-pointer for the win at the buzzer.

Hawes finished with six points on 1-for-8 shooting.

“I have a weird thing with the first preseason game,” he said.

The 76ers looked like the young, inexperienced unit they are, struggling with their defensive spacing and while the guard-heavy bench brought energy and enthusiasm, they were murdered on the boards.

“He made amends and stepped up and made two very large free throws,” Brown said of Hawes.

The Sixers attacked the basket with aggression and finished up going 34-of-46 from the free throw line.

Bilbao was 28-of-32.

Wow. 78 free throws? Wait for the howling from NBL fans.

Oh. Wait. That’s right. It’s NBA preseason…

IT’S moments like these – with the Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets in basketball-mad Manila for an NBA preseason game - I wish BA CEO Kristina Keneally was slightly more prudent when tweeting anti-NSW Government messages.

Getting some NBA preseason games in Sydney and/or Melbourne could only be a huge boost for our sport and could probably only happen with some Government a$$istance.

Both NBA teams flew into Manila today, ahead of their preseason Global Games match in the Philippines on Thursday.

Basketball has been the country's most popular sport since before Ferdinand Marcos was in power, Manila even hosting the 1978 FIBA Men’s World Championship.

Naturally the NBA game has created a buzz on social media, TV and radio.

It is part of the NBA's comprehensive global schedule that has eight teams playing in eight cities in six countries this month.

After Manila, the Rockets and Pacers play in Taipei on Sunday.

In the Global Games series, 12 teams are playing outside the USA and Canada - the most ever - with regular-season games in two countries also occurring for the first time.

There are stops in old standbys and first-time trips to cities in Brazil and Spain that will host major international competitions in the next few years.

Wouldn’t a Golden State Warriors versus San Antonio Spurs or a match with the Cleveland Cavs draw a few people to Sydney and/or Melbourne?

Would that help basketball’s profile at all in Australia do you think?