NEW YORK — Tension is rising in the ongoing labor battle between the WNBA and the union representing the players, with the existing collective bargaining agreement expiring next week and no new deal in sight.

And the back-and-forth — with the sides taking shots at the other — ramped up quickly on Tuesday and Wednesday.

It started Tuesday morning when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he was confident a new deal would get done and that WNBA players would get significant raises. But one of his word choices _ when he answered a question about whether WNBA players merit a larger share of that league’s revenues — raised the ire of the union.

“Yes. I mean, I think share isn’t the right way to look at it because there’s so much more revenue in the NBA,” Silver said on NBC’s “Today” “show. “I t

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