Portland Fire vs Minnesota Lynx Prediction, 7/18/2026 WNBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Portland Fire vs Minnesota Lynx

Date: Saturday, July 18, 2026

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: WNBA League Pass

Odds/Point Spread: Portland (+11.5)

The Portland Fire (11-14) head to Target Center on Saturday where they'll meet the Minnesota Lynx (19-6). Minnesota opens this contest as 11.5 point favorites. The total opens at 171.5.

The Portland Fire took the court against the Washington Mystics and walked away with a win by a score of 75-56 in their last contest. Portland wrapped up the game having earned a 43.3% field goal percentage (29 of 67) and made 10 of their 36 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Fire knocked down 7 of 9 tries for a percentage of 77.8%. Regarding rebounding, they compiled 24 with 4 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 19 assists in this contest in addition to creating 14 turnovers and having 10 steals. When discussing defending, Portland allowed their opponent to shoot 29.7% from the floor on 19 of 64 shooting. Washington doled out 11 dimes and had 11 steals in this game. Furthermore, Washington pulled down 31 rebounds (11 offensive, 20 defensive) and got 4 blocked shots. Washington ended up going 69.6% at the charity stripe by converting 16 of 23 tries. They also made 2 of 21 tries from 3-point range.

Carla Leite is someone who came through for the matchup. She accumulated 14 points on 5 out of 12 shooting. She played 23 minutes played and also grabbed 1 rebound. Leite ended up shooting 41.7% from the field and also earned 5 assists.

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Portland heads into this contest with a mark of 11-14 so far this year. They are averaging 84.6 points per contest (10th in basketball) while shooting 44.4% from the field. The Fire are hitting 34.2% on 3-point shots (240 of 701) and 81.7% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Portland is grabbing 29.5 rebounds per game and has 505 dimes so far this season, which is 4th in the league in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 14.8 times per game and as a unit are committing 22.7 personal fouls per contest. When they are on defense, the Fire have forced 14.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.0 fouls. They concede 33.0% on shots from distance while they are 13th in the league in opponents PPG (89.8). The Fire are allowing a field goal percentage of 46.1% (349 of 476) and they surrender 34.0 boards per game as a basketball team. They are currently ranked 15th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 576 relinquished for the campaign.

The last time they took the court, the Minnesota Lynx went home victorious with a score of 96-87 when they played the Los Angeles Sparks. The Lynx pulled down 18 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 25 in this matchup. They turned it over 11 times, while earning 13 steals for the matchup. The Sparks had 17 fouls in the matchup which took the Lynx to the free throw line for 24 shots. They were able to bury 20 of the free throws for a percentage of 83.3%. Regarding 3-pointers, Minnesota buried 8 of 25 attempts (32.0%). Overall, the Lynx went 34 for 68 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.0%. The Lynx allowed the Sparks to bury 31 of 65 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 47.7% for this contest. They shot 32.1% from 3-point land by shooting 9 out of 28 and finished the game at 16 of 19 from the free throw line (84.2%). In reference to cleaning up the glass, Minnesota permitted Los Angeles to pull down 31 overall (5 offensive).

Kayla McBride ended up being a major contributor for the Lynx in this game. She converted 8 out of 16 in this matchup for a rate of 50.0%, and accounted for 1 rebound. McBride tallied 24 points in her 31 mins on the court and had 1 assist for this contest.

Minnesota has a mark of 19-6 this year. As an offense, the Lynx are shooting 48.1% from the field, which is ranked 2nd in basketball. Minnesota has accounted for 2,270 pts this year (90.8 per contest) and they collect 35.5 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 21.2 times per game (3rd in the WNBA) and they are turning it over 13.2 times per contest. The Lynx are responsible for committing 19.3 fouls per contest and they hit 80.3% from the charity stripe. The Lynx on the defensive end are ranked 2nd in the WNBA in PPG given up with 81.9. They have forced 14.7 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.6% from the field (1st in basketball). The Minnesota defense concedes 31.9% on shots from distance (219 of 687) and their opposition makes 79.2% of their foul shots. They surrender 19.8 assists and 32.5 boards per game, which is ranked 8th and 5th in the league.

Who will win tonight's WNBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Minnesota (-11.5)

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