He dove into a Reddit thread, his fingers flying. “Links are down everywhere. The league finally nuked the servers,” one user posted. “Try the Albanian stream!” another suggested.

The screen didn't show the bright lights of the Chase Center. It didn't show a tip-off. Instead, the browser flickered white, then settled into a cold, clinical grey. In the top left corner, the words sat like a tombstone: "No, no, no," Marcus whispered. He refreshed. Error 404.

8:59 PM. The "Live" button appeared. He held his breath and clicked.

He opened the NBA app and looked at the "League Pass" pricing page.