Kayla Thornton buried four of Golden State’s 12 first-half 3-pointers in a 56-point explosion that opened a 20-point lead and propelled the Valkyries to a 95-77 victory over the Portland Fire in the teams’ Commissioner’s Cup opener on Tuesday night in San Francisco.

Thornton finished with five 3-pointers in 10 tries and a game-high 19 points as the Valkyries (6-3) bettered their franchise record with 18 hoops from beyond the arc to complete a 3-1 homestand.

Megan Gustafson had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Fire (6-5), who were coming off a 16-point home win over the Indiana Fever on Saturday night.

Riding Gustafson’s early scoring, the Fire led by four in the first period and were within 33-30 in the fourth minute of the second quarter before Golden State took command.

The Valkyries ran off 23 of the half’s final 29 points, getting 3-pointers from five different players. Golden State finished the half 12 of 23 from deep.

Golden State’s spurt included a rare seven-point play on which Cecilia Zandalasini hit a 3-pointer while absorbing a flagrant foul from the Fire’s Bridget Carleton.

Zandalasini completed a personal four-point play with a free throw, after which Golden State got possession of the ball and converted it into a Kiah Stokes 3-pointer.

Still down 18 after three quarters, the Fire went on an 11-1 run to open the fourth period and get within 75-67 with 5:43 to play.

But the Valkyries got their long-range game going again, with Veronica Burton, Thornton and Janelle Salaun bombing in 3-pointers, helping the hosts re-establish an 18-point cushion before coasting home.

Salaun backed Thornton with 18 points off the bench for the Valkyries, while Burton had 10 points to complement a game-high nine assists. Thornton also found time to be Golden State’s leading rebounder with eight.

The Valkyries finished 18 of 40 from beyond the arc.

Former Valkyries guard Carla Leite had a team-high seven assists to go with 10 points for the Fire, while Emily Engstler chipped in with 12 points and Carleton 11. Engstler shared game-high rebound honors with Thornton and Gustafson with eight.

–Field Level Media

The Vegas Golden Knights have already wrested away home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Final after claiming a 5-4 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in the series opener on Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C.

Even so, the Golden Knights are well aware they were not at their best in the victory that kicked off the best-of-seven series.

“It’s a good start,” Vegas forward Tomas Hertl, who scored the game-winning goal in the third period, told Sportsnet. “We’re up 1-0 and it was a great game, but we have to be ready and sometimes play smarter.”

Game 2 of the series is on Thursday in Raleigh.

The Golden Knights have won seven straight playoff games, the latest victory coming after they fell behind 2-0. Hertl ended the back-and-forth affair when he broke a tie by finishing a give-and-go with Colton Sissons, receiving the puck in the slot and firing a top-shelf shot with 3:24 remaining in regulation.

“We knew they were going to push in the first and we weathered the storm,” said Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore, who scored once in a three-point performance. “It was good to get one late (in the first period), make it 2-1, and we really pushed in the second. And we’re a great third-period team, and (I) like our game.”

Vegas’ Brett Howden tallied once and added an assist while Ivan Barbashev and William Karlsson each tallied. Goaltender Carter Hart made 23 saves, and Brayden McNabb posted a career playoff-high three assists.

“It’s a find-a-way league. We found a way tonight,” Vegas coach John Tortorella said.

Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice and Jordan Staal and Shayne Gostisbehere contributed a goal apiece for the Hurricanes, who lost for only the second time in this year’s playoffs. Jalen Chatfield recorded two assists, and goalie Frederik Andersen stopped 18 shots.

“We’ve got to be better,” said Staal, Carolina’s captain. “It’s a battle and it’s gonna be a grind, and we’re expecting that. It’s a tough loss, for sure, but we’re gonna get our game in better shape if we want to beat this team.”

The club that claims the opener of the finals has won the Stanley Cup 76.4% of the time. When the visiting team has prevailed in Game 1, that mark drops to 65.6%.

Ehlers opened the scoring 25 seconds into the clash, the third-fastest goal in history to start a finals, and made it a 2-0 game with a breakaway tally at 12:08 of the first period.

Vegas responded with a trio of goals. Theodore put Vegas on the board 80 seconds after Ehlers’ second tally, with his long point shot ricocheting off a defender and into the cage, and Barbashev tied the contest 30 seconds into the second period.

From there, Vegas twice watched a lead disappear. Karlsson gave the Golden Knights a 3-2 edge at 4:35 of the middle period, but Staal tied the clash eight minutes later.

Howden gave Vegas its second lead 81 seconds into the third period before Gostisbehere tied the clash again past the midway point of the final frame.

The hosts were unable to build on that momentum before Hertl’s winner.

“You’ve got to give them credit. That’s a great team,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We were right there and we made a few mistakes that we’ve got to try to clean up and have better execution. You’re not winning this thing if you have those kinds of errors and lack of execution.”

–Field Level Media

A’ja Wilson scored 25 points with 15 rebounds, Jackie Young added 16 points with nine assists and the visiting Las Vegas Aces opened their Commissioner’s Cup schedule with a 79-69 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday.

Chelsea Gray scored 12 points with 11 assists as the Aces (6-3) have won consecutive games following a two-game losing streak that started with a home loss to the Sparks.

The Aces are one of three teams to have reached the Commissioner’s Cup final twice in the first five seasons of the tournament, winning it all in 2022. This season’s final is scheduled for June 30.

Rae Burrell scored a career-high 22 points and Nneka Ogwumike added 12 points with 12 rebounds as the Sparks (4-5) dropped to 0-2 without guard Kelsey Plum, who sprained her right ankle in practice last week. Plum, who leads Los Angeles with 26.8 points per game, played for Las Vegas from 2018-24.

The Aces shot 44.9% from the floor, while the Sparks shot a season-low 30.8%.

The Aces took a 14-10 lead after one quarter by holding the Sparks to 23.1% shooting from the floor. Las Vegas grabbed a 31-16 lead with 6:05 remaining in the first half after a 3-pointer from Young, before the Sparks pulled within 35-30 with 1:35 left before halftime.

The Aces led 37-30 at the break by holding the Sparks to 29.0% from the floor, while getting 13 points and eight rebounds from Wilson.

Los Angeles was within 43-38 with 7:25 remaining in the third quarter before Las Vegas went on a 14-4 run to take a 57-42 lead with 2:38 left in the period. The Aces entered the fourth quarter with a 64-51 advantage.

Las Vegas led 71-56 with 5:16 remaining before Los Angeles went on an 8-0 run to pull within 71-64 with 2:48 remaining after a three-point play from Burrell. The Aces halted the run on a three-point play from Wilson with 1:40 remaining.

Burrell had to be helped off the floor after the final buzzer with an apparent right ankle injury.

–Field Level Media