2:14 AM ET NEW YORK — Having been in Zion Williamson’s shoes eight years ago, playing in New Orleans as the NBA’s No. 1 pick, Anthony Davis had some advice for the Pelicans rookie. “Just go out there and play and have fun,” he said. Davis said there are outsized expectations that come with being

6:06 PM ET ESPN News Services Hawks star guard Trae Young will not play Wednesday, when Atlanta takes on the Clippers, because of a thigh injury. Young was listed as questionable earlier Wednesday before being ruled out. Jeff Teague will replace the second-year guard in Atlanta’s starting lineup. 2 Related The Hawks have not indicated

10:53 AM ET Denver Nuggets backup center Mason Plumlee is expected to miss two weeks to a month with a right foot injury, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday. Plumlee rolled his ankle in the second quarter of Monday’s 107-100 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves but was able to return to the game. Plumlee,

11:02 PM ET NBA Insiders Zion Williamson‘s NBA debut with the New Orleans Pelicans is here. Williamson’s surgery to fix the meniscus in his right knee happened on Oct. 21, the day before the Pelicans opened the 2019-20 season against the Toronto Raptors. The original timeline for Williamson was six-to-eight weeks, which would have put

7:16 PM ET Dwight Howard will be part of the 2020 Slam Dunk Contest on All-Star Weekend. The Los Angeles Lakers confirmed Howard’s participation in a tweet Tuesday. It’s official: Superman will take flight at the 2020 Slam Dunk Contest! pic.twitter.com/fBpNAH8wXq — Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 21, 2020 Howard hasn’t competed in the contest

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

2:01 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving is being held out of Monday’s matinee against the Philadelphia 76ers in the hope that resting his tight left hamstring will prevent another extended absence. Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said that Irving first presented with the hamstring symptoms on Sunday. He underwent treatment to

7:38 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Kemba Walker has accomplished many things in the NBA: He’s made three All-Star teams and an All-NBA team. He has won the league’s sportsmanship award twice and made two trips to the playoffs. He’s signed a max contract. But there’s one thing he hasn’t done: Beat LeBron James.

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