6:53 AM ET DEEP UNDER THE Staples Center basket, cameras are held aloft, each lens moving in unison like starlings in murmuration. Nearly two dozen digital eyes are trained on the vending-machine-sized forward warming up, and each time he drives to the hoop, the crowd of onlookers beneath the basket parts to make ample room.

1:35 AM ET ESPN News Services PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard set a franchise record with 61 points, including a career-best 11 3-pointers, and the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers outlasted the equally depleted Golden State Warriors 129-124 in overtime Monday night. Lillard’s previous career high was 60 points earlier this season against Brooklyn. He now

8:15 PM ET SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Sierra Canyon’s game on Monday at the Hoophall Classic was briefly stopped after someone in the crowd threw a piece of debris in the direction of Bronny James. It’s unclear what was thrown, whether it was food or a piece of trash, but it hit James as he was

11:39 AM ET Los Angeles Lakers star big man Anthony Davis is available to play Monday against the Boston Celtics after missing the last five games with an injured backside. The Lakers also listed veteran point guard and former Celtics star Rajon Rondo (finger) as questionable. Davis suffered a bruised backside when he hit the

6:12 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson is officially listed as doubtful for Monday’s contest against the Memphis Grizzlies. The team announced the change in the injury report on Sunday evening, but don’t read too much into it. Williamson is still expected to make his NBA debut on Wednesday night against

5:48 PM ET ESPN News Services Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis, who has missed the last 10 games because of right knee soreness, said he is targeting a return to the lineup on Tuesday against the LA Clippers. 2 Related “The way I’m feeling, I don’t see why there should be any hurdles,” Porzingis told

9:52 AM ET Nick DePaulaESPN As one of the league’s leading pregame and postgame sneaker philanthropists, known for giving away his kicks to young fans in every arena, Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell took yet another step in utilizing his footwear for a bigger cause. “I saw what happened in Australia and in Puerto Rico,

1:45 AM ET HOUSTON — It was halftime in Houston. The Rockets led by six, and Russell Westbrook was rolling, already up to 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, when Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo made a coaching suggestion. Why not try putting Kyle Kuzma on him? Kuzma, known more for his scoring potency than

5:05 PM ET The Portland Trail Blazers have agreed to trade Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver and two future second-round picks to the Sacramento Kings in a deal that sheds $12.3 million in salary, league sources tell ESPN. The Kings will send Trevor Ariza, Wenyen Gabriel and Caleb Swanigan to the Blazers, whose luxury tax bill

The call came in the middle of dinner. Paul George had been text-messaging throughout the meal — not an uncommon occurrence at this point in late June, as the NBA approached one of its most audacious free-agent signing periods. But when the call came in, he got up from his table at Catch LA, an