NBA's Lakers, Clippers home games to resume on Monday after weekend games postponed amid wildfires
The NBA announced that home games for both the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers would resume on Monday, after both teams had games originally scheduled for Saturday postponed due to the wildfires sweeping through Southern California.
The Lakers will host the San Antonio Spurs on Monday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles while the Clippers will host the Miami Heat at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, south of the Palisades fire.
The Clippers said at practice Sunday that the league had given the green light for Monday's game. The Spurs said they were told that Monday's matchup with the Lakers would be played as scheduled.
Saturday's games in Southern California, in which the Lakers were initially scheduled to host the Spurs in the first of two consecutive games between the two teams and the Clippers' home game against the Charlotte Hornets, were postponed in response to the fires. The Lakers also had a game previously scheduled for Thursday against the Hornets pushed back.
"I pray this nightmare ends soon!" Lakers star forward LeBron James wrote Saturday on the social media platform X.
The Spurs had to change hotels due to fire concerns after arriving in Los Angeles, while the Heat arrived on Saturday night as scheduled.
The Lakers and Clippers also are both scheduled to host games on Wednesday, when the Lakers play host to the Heat and the Clippers play the Brooklyn Nets.
"When people are losing their homes, kids are losing schools, losing lives, it’s very difficult to approach the game of basketball because life is bigger than basketball," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters. "Hopefully we can bring some kind of joy with the game coming back tomorrow and some togetherness and try to put some smiles on people’s faces in tough times."
LEBRON JAMES SENDING 'SO MANY PRAYERS' AS LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES CONTINUE
Clippers' guard Terance Mann plans to search through a storage unit he keeps for useful items he intends to donate.
"I just want to give a lot of clothes, some money, shoes, whatever I can," he said. "I’m going to go help people out and donate and drive around and do what I can do to help."
Some members of the Clippers organization were forced to evacuate their homes during the fires. The team was on the road when the fires began, and star forward Kawhi Leonard left the team in Denver to help his family in Pacific Palisades evacuate.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said his family's rental home in Pacific Palisades burned on Tuesday night, destroying most of their belongings.
"I was not prepared for what I saw," Redick said Friday. "It’s complete devastation and destruction. I had to go a different way to the house, but I went through most of the village, and it’s all gone. I don’t think you can ever prepare yourself for something like that. Our home is gone."
The Lakers announced a donation drive for their upcoming games, starting Monday. The team has urged fans to bring new, in-the-package items to support the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank’s relief efforts.
The team's UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo will be used as a drive-thru donation center starting Tuesday, with essential non-food items listed as priorities, but packaged food items are also welcomed.
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association, which is the players' union, announced on Friday a $1 million donation for immediate relief to the American Red Cross, World Central Kitchen and other organizations working to provide assistance to the victims and recovery efforts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
