The Lakers and Clippers continue their fireside schedule on Monday

NBA games are set to return to fire-ravaged los angeles on monday night, with Clippers they plan to continue their schedule when they host Miami and the Lakers set up as a host Victor Vembanyama and Saint Anthony.

The Clippers said at practice Sunday that the NBA has given the go-ahead for the game at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, just south of the Palisades fire. The Spurs were told that, aside from the changes, they will also play the Lakers on Monday at Cripto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.

“I pray this nightmare ends soon!” Lakers star LeBron James published on social networks.

It will be the Clippers’ first game in five days after playing a home game Charlotte on Saturday delayed due to deadly wildfires across Los Angeles. The Lakers had two games off at home, one against the Hornets on Thursday and the other in the first of a scheduled two-game series against the Spurs on Saturday.

“When people lose their homes, kids lose schools, lose lives, it’s very hard to approach the game of basketball because life is bigger than basketball,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Hopefully we can bring some kind of joy with tomorrow’s game and a bit of togetherness and try to put a smile back on people’s faces in difficult times.”

Instead of spending the day before the game resting, the Clippers are Terrance Mann he planned to leave the practice and search the warehouse he keeps for useful things.

“I just want to give a lot of clothes, some money, shoes, whatever I can,” he said. “I go to help people and donate, drive around and do what I can to help.”

The Lakers have announced plans for a donation drive for their upcoming games, starting Monday, asking fans to bring new takeaway items to support the efforts of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

The Lakers’ UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo will begin serving as a donation center on Tuesday, the team announced. The Lakers said the priorities are non-food items such as deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, lotion, waterless shampoo, phone chargers, socks, gloves and mittens, hand warmers, hats and blankets.

For food items, the Lakers said donations of peanut butter and other nuts, protein snacks, crackers, peanut butter crackers, trail mix, fruit snacks, energy bars, tuna, chicken, 100% juice boxes, raisins and other dried fruits are welcome, UHT milk, individual cereal boxes, water and still drinks.

The Spurs had to change hotels due to a fire upon arrival in Los Angeles, and the Heat arrived Saturday night as scheduled after the Portland game.

“Obviously, we just want to see the community come back together,” Spurs forward Harrison Barnes said.

Checking apps and watching and listening to 24/7 fire news has become a habit since the disaster began Tuesday, with multiple fires burning in Los Angeles County.

“I’ve watched more news than I’ve ever watched in my life in the last three days,” Mann said, smiling. “I was just on YouTube TV watching the news in the dressing room trying to get an update on what was going on.

The Clippers were on their way when the fires started. Kawhi Leonard left the team in Denver to return to his family and home in Pacific Palisades, one of the two largest fires in the area.

“It was good to see him and his family doing well,” Mann said.

Some members of the Clippers organization had to evacuate their homes, and others know people who lost theirs. Lakers coach JJ Redick said last week that the house he and his family are renting this season — along with most of their possessions — was completely destroyed in the fire.

“People are still barely sleeping,” Mann said. “Some guys lost power, some got family stuff to figure out, some guys had their kids’ school burn down. There’s a lot going on. It’s a lot bigger than basketball.”

in Denver, Nicholas Batum he said he checked his phone at halftime – something he never does – to see where the fire was. He returned to LA and rushed to pack boxes when he thought his family would have to flee.

Now, the Clippers are eager to get back to business and give their fans a break.

“We’ve been through some crazy stuff the last five days,” Batum said. “I think maybe people need that to take their mind off it for two, three hours.”

Both the Clippers and Lakers have home games scheduled for Wednesday, with the Clippers playing Brooklyn and the Lakers hosting the Heat. ESPN planned to broadcast the Lakers-Heat game; the network changed those plans Sunday and put the game with Golden State visiting Minnesota on the national TV schedule instead.

Associated Press reports.

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