Blazers guard Damian Lillard won the 2013 Rookie of the Year. (Sam Forencich/Getty Images)

Two brothers are alleging that associates of Damian Lillard beat them up early Saturday morning in a dispute over a photograph.

KGW.com reports that the two men, who have been identified as Jermaine and Phil Ulinwa, claim that the 2013 Rookie of the Year took exception to having his photograph taken and that served as the trigger point of a fight.

One brother told KGW the beating happened as a result of a picture that he snapped with his cell phone after he spotted the basketball star walking toward a parking lot with several other people.

“And his entourage just turned around too and they’re like ‘Did you just take a picture of Damian Lillard?’ And I was like … ‘Yeah, I did.’ And so I saw that he was clearly upset, they were upset and I was like, ‘Can I apologize to him? Like I’ll go up right now and apologize to him,’” the brother said.

Within minutes, he says the discussion became an all-out fight which did not involve Lillard but did involve others that the brothers believe were part of Lillard’s group. When the second brother stepped in to help his brother, he says he was punched and kicked repeatedly, enough to break his nose and require stitches in his lip.

A Portland Police spokesman has confirmed that the incident is being investigated but stated Monday that the Blazers guard is not a suspect and that it has not yet been determined whether the suspects “are or are not” associated with Lillard, according to The Oregonian.

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The Knicks were eliminated from the postseason by the Pacers. (David E. Klutho/SI)

Here’s a look at what’s in store for the Knicks this offseason after their second-round loss to the Pacers.

• What’s the biggest priority for New York this offseason?

Building out a more dynamic offense while improving the team’s capacity for stout defensive stretches.

The likelihood of making these Knicks into a top-10 defense is small at this stage, as even a peak-form Tyson Chandler won’t be able to compensate for the liabilities across the rotation. More plausible is a Knicks team that could score more readily while managing modest defensive improvement — reasonable gains for this bunch, albeit ones that would still leave this core of players well short of the championship standard.

Outlines: Bucks | Lakers | Nuggets | Nets | Clippers | Rockets | Celtics | Hawks | Bulls | Thunder | Warriors

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The Pacers held the edge in the season series, defeating Miami twice in three games. (Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)

After marching through two rounds of the postseason, the Heat will face their greatest challenge yet in the hard-defending, power-posting Pacers. Indiana won two of three regular-season meetings, but even that isn’t enough to make the Heat anything less than a decisive favorite in the Eastern Conference finals. In fact, the greatest point of debate lies in guessing the length of the series rather than its outcome; there is a wide consensus that Indiana is in over its head, equipped to put up a fight but not to win.

Unfortunately for the Pacers, that seems a fair characterization. But with games yet to be played, Indiana’s hope still springs. Coach Frank Vogel’s team is good enough to give the Heat trouble, and as a result hold some chance — however slim — of upsetting the defending champions. It certainly won’t be easy, but the following details a few of the strategic elements that could help the Pacers shock Miami and the basketball world at large.

THOMSEN: Previewing Eastern Conference finals matchup | STAFF: Series predictions

• Execute their defense to perfection. In this matter, the Pacers have little choice. They absolutely must be at the top of their collective defensive game if they’re to keep up in this series — a task that promises to be far more difficult than it was against the Knicks in the second round. New York was all too willing to settle for the inefficient shots that Indiana’s defensive philosophy encourages, but Miami will pursue better looks. Ball movement and dribble penetration will force the Pacers to defend consecutive actions from players who consistently project as a threat to score, and in that Miami will conduct multiple tests of Indiana’s defensive focus with every trip down the floor. Indiana is one of the few teams that can legitimately slow Miami’s roll, but it will take peak defensive operation from the Pacers to do more than win a few games.

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Would Dwight Howard (right) team up with James Harden in Houston? (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Will Dwight Howard take the court for his third team in three years once the 2013-14 season rolls around?

CBSSports.com reported Sunday that Howard, set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, is “intrigued” by at least two teams other than the Lakers, who acquired him from the Magic in a four-team blockbuster trade in 2012.

Though Howard is adamant his free agency not be marred by the circus-like environment that surrounded his departure from Orlando last summer, word already has spread to multiple levels of his support staff that Howard re-signing with the Lakers is far from a done deal.

With six weeks to go before Howard becomes an unrestricted free agent, the team that is said to intrigue him the most is the Houston Rockets, according to multiple people briefed on internal conversations surrounding Howard’s free-agent decision.

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The Mavericks represent another franchise that intrigues Howard, and Dallas is a minor transaction or two away from having enough room to sign Howard outright as an unrestricted free agent. Howard plans to explore all such options, and a person briefed on his plans told CBSSports.com that there are “several” teams the free-agent center is “going to take a hard look at.”

After getting ejected from the Lakers’ final loss of the season, Howard vowed to take a step back and assess the situation before making a decision.

“I’m going to step away from everything for a couple weeks and clear my head before I do or talk about anything, as far as next season,” Howard said. “I think I deserve that. That’s what I’m going to do.”

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Celtics wing Terrence Williams (left) has reportedly been arrested. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images Sport)

Police in Kent, Wa., announced Sunday that Celtics guard/forward Terrence Williams was arrested after he allegedly made threats with a gun during what is being called a domestic violence incident.

The Kent Reporter reports that police took Williams into custody after he allegedly waved a gun during an argument with the mother of his child.

At about 1:55 p.m., officers were dispatched to meet the victim who resides in the downtown Kent area. The victim reported that the father of her 10-year-old son in common, identified as NBA basketball player Terrence D. Williams, arrived to her home for a scheduled visitation exchange of their son. She said during the exchange in the parking lot area an argument ensued. The victim reported that during the argument Williams brandished a firearm and made threats.

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“We investigate and treat all cases such as this very seriously regardless of the status of those involved” said Police Detective Melanie Frazier.

The Seattle Times also reports the police account.

The woman told police that Williams had a scheduled visitation exchange with the boy on Sunday, and during the exchange in a downtown Kent parking lot, the two began arguing. The woman told police that Williams brandished a firearm and made threats. He then left the area.

Police said they later located Williams and took him into custody.

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