After being upgraded from out to doubtful to questionable over the last few days, LeBron James will be available to play for the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. James tested his foot pregame and will play for the first time since a 13-game absence due to a sore right foot.

In a twist, James will come off the bench for Los Angeles against the Chicago Bulls. This is just the second time James has appeared in a game as a reserve in his 20-year NBA career. The last time James came off the bench, was following a thumb injury early in the 2007-08 season. He played 23 minutes and scored 17 points as a reserve in a Cleveland Cavaliers victory over the Indiana Pacers on December 11, 2007.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic was called for his 16th technical foul on Sunday afternoon. If that technical is not rescinded, Doncic will be suspended for the Mavs game on Monday at the Indiana Pacers.

After losing at home to the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, Dallas dropped a road game at Charlotte on Sunday. The second loss to the Hornets was the Mavericks fourth consecutive loss overall. That saw Dallas drop to 36-39 on the season and pushed the Mavs out of the Play-In Tournament picture.

DaQuan Jeffries and the New York Knicks have agreed to a multi-year deal.

Jeffries recently completed two 10-day deals with the Knicks, but hasn't appeared in any games.

The Dallas Mavericks lost at home to the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, falling to 7-12 since trading for Kyrie Irving. The Mavericks are 3-7 when Irving and Luka Doncic play together.

"We got to fight hard, play harder," said Doncic. "That's about it. We got to show we care and it starts with me first. I've just got to lead this team, being better, playing harder. It's on me."

Doncic also acknowledged that he is struggling to find joy on the court.

"I think you can see it with me on the court," Doncic said. "Sometimes I don't feel it's me. I'm just being out there. I used to have really fun, smiling on court, but it's just been so frustrating for a lot of reasons, not just basketball."

Asked what else was bothering him, Doncic cited issues in his private life.

Brooklyn Nets forward Ben Simmons was recently diagnosed with a nerve impingement in his back. That injury will keep him out indefinitely, but Nets coach Jacque Vaughn is being realistic about Simmons' timeline to return.

“For me as a coach, there’s some things that I can control, some things that I can’t control,” Vaughn said. “What I can’t control is the impingement. What I can control is getting this group ready to play. And then in all honesty, the realism that he’s probably not going to join us for the rest of the year ... certainty will come once he continues to be looked at by specialists.”

After missing all of last season due to a holdout with the Philadelphia 76ers and subsequent back injury, Simmons appeared in 42 games for the Nets this season. He averaged career-lows across the board with 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game.

The Portland Trail Blazers have fallen 3.5 games behind in the race for the Western Conference Play-In Tournament. Having fallen that far behind, with only nine games to play, the Blazers are leaning towards shutting down star guard Damian Lillard for the season.

Lillard is dealing with a calf injury. The Blazers star has also recently talked about how sometimes you have to be smart when your team is no longer competitive in a season.

This is looks like it will be the second consecutive one where Portland misses the playoffs. That's after a run of eight consecutive playoff appearances from 2014 through 2021.

Lillard has appeared in 58 of the Trail Blazers 73 games this season. He's averaged a career-high 32.2 points per game, in his 11th NBA season. 

Jarace Walker has announced he will leave Houston after his freshman season to enter the 2023 NBA draft. Walker is a projected lottery pick.

Walker was the top power forward of his high school class and Kelvin Sampson has expected him to leave after one season.

Walker finishes his college career averaging 11.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 27.6 minutes per game.

The Golden State Warriors will not pursue any further action, grievance or review by the NBA for their trade with the Portland Trail Blazers for Gary Payton II.

The Warriors considered rescinding their trade for Payton after the Blazers failed to disclose the extent of his injury.

Payton is expected to return from his injury soon.

CJ McCollum has been playing through a right thumb injury this season that will require offseason surgery.

"I knew the final outcome would probably be surgery, and I was notified that that’s what it’s going to have to be" wrote McCollum in his diary for Andscape. "It’s my shooting hand, so you’re always a little nervous. So, I just been checking in with a hand specialist out of New York and just making sure things are progressing and continue to get images every couple weeks to track the progress as to what type of surgery I may need, what’s the process going to look like and I’m comfortable with what I’ve been hearing so far, so I’ll be all right. But I’m not making any excuses. I’ve been in the league for a long time, and I pride myself on being the best leader I can be on and off the court. We don’t have the luxury of sitting certain games at this stage of the season based on standings. I would like to compete in the playoffs for my 10th straight season or at least give ourselves a chance and address what needs to be addressed after our fate has been determined.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has been upgraded to doubtful for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bulls. This is the first time James has been listed as anything but "out" since February 26.

In that game on February 26, James reported that he felt a pop in his right foot. James has been out since then, with what's been listed as right foot soreness.

The 20-year veteran has missed the Lakers last 13 games. During that time, Los Angeles has gone 8-5. That solid play has seen the Lakers push up to eighth place in the Western Conference. As of the start of play on Saturday, the Lakers are only two games out of fifth place in the conference.