NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association today announced its national television schedule for Kia Motors NBA Tip-Off ’10 and select national holiday games, including Christmas Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The announcement was made exclusively during a special hour-long show on NBA TV earlier this evening.

For the 15th straight season, the NBA will begin its season with a doubleheader televised by TNT, this year on Tuesday, Oct. 26. The 2010-11 season will mark Turner Sports’ 27^th consecutive campaign of NBA coverage. In the season opener, the defending Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics led by All-Stars Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo welcome the rebuilt Miami Heat sparked by Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade for a 7:30 p.m. ET tip off. In the nightcap at 10:30 p.m. ET, the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers and 2010 Finals MVP Kobe Bryant begin their quest for their third consecutive title when they host the Houston Rockets in the much anticipated return of All-Star Center Yao Ming. TNT’s coverage of the Rockets-Lakers will include the championship ring ceremony following the completion of the Miami-Boston game.

ESPN will open its ninth consecutive year of NBA coverage on Wednesday, Oct. 27, with a doubleheader, beginning with Derrick Rose, newly-acquired Carlos Boozer and the Chicago Bulls visiting the Kevin Durant-led Oklahoma City Thunder at 8 p.m. ET. In game two, Brandon Roy and the Portland Trail Blazers travel to Los Angeles to face the Clippers at 10:30 p.m. ET in the NBA debut of Blake Griffin, the No. 1 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft presented by EA SPORTS™.

TNT will continue its Kia Motors NBA Tip-Off ’10 schedule with another doubleheader on Thursday, Oct. 28. Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic will open the state-of-the-art Amway Center by welcoming John Wall, the top pick in the 2010 NBA Draft presented by EA SPORTS™, and the Washington Wizards for an 8 p.m. ET tip-off. In the second game, Deron Williams and the Utah Jazz entertain Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns at 10:30 p.m. ET.

ESPN and ESPN Deportes will wrap up the first four days of the NBA national TV schedule with a doubleheader on Friday, Oct. 29, starting with a Florida showdown as the Magic travels south to face the Heat at 8 p.m. ET. The nightcap is a rematch of the 2010 Western Conference Finals at 10:30 p.m. ET when the Suns welcome the Lakers to the desert.

NBA TV will tip off four consecutive days of coverage on Saturday, Oct. 30 beginning with the Rockets welcoming Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups and the Denver Nuggets at 8:30 p.m. ET. The network’s coverage continues on Sunday, Oct. 31, with Utah visiting Oklahoma City at 7 p.m. ET and followed on Monday, Nov. 1, with the Bulls hosting Portland for an 8 p.m. ET tip. The Kia Motors NBA Tip-Off ‘10 national television schedule concludes Tuesday, Nov. 2 with NBA TV’s Fan Night in which fans vote on NBA.com for the game they most want to see.

This is the third consecutive season that Kia Motors, the Official Automotive Partner of the NBA, has been the lead partner of NBA Tip-Off.

Christmas Day Features Five Games

Christmas Day features five nationally televised games for the third consecutive season. ABC will open its season coverage with a star-studded doubleheader, beginning with a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals as the Magic hosts the Celtics at 2:30 p.m. ET. In game two, the Heat travels to Los Angeles to face the Lakers at 5 p.m. ET. ESPN will also televise three games on Christmas Day, starting at 12 p.m. ET when the Bulls visit Amar’e Stoudemire and the New York Knicks, followed by an evening doubleheader featuring the Nuggets’ visit to the Thunder at 8 p.m. ET and the Blazers’ duel with David Lee and the Golden State Warriors at 10:30 p.m. ET. The Bulls and Knicks contest will also be televised by ESPN Deportes.

NBA Celebrates Martin Luther King

The NBA will again celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a full schedule of games on Jan. 17, including four nationally televised contests. On ESPN, the Bulls visit the home of the Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, Tenn., to square off with the Grizzlies at 1 p.m. ET. NBA TV will showcase a mid-afternoon affair when the Sacramento Kings and 2010 T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans visit All-Stars Al Horford, Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks at 4 p.m. ET.   TNT will feature an evening doubleheader beginning with another matchup of the Eastern Conference Finalists, Boston and Orlando, at 8 p.m. ET, and a rematch at 10:30 p.m. ET of the hotly-contested 2010 Western Conference First Round series between the Thunder and the Lakers.

The remainder of the 2010-11 NBA Regular Season schedule will be completed and announced next Tuesday, Aug. 10.

KIA MOTORS NBA TIP-OFF ’10

DATE     GAME                                                      NETWORK                   TIME (ET)

10/26      Miami at Boston                                        TNT                                7:30 p.m.

10/26      Houston at Los Angeles Lakers                 TNT                                10:30 p.m.

10/27      Chicago at Oklahoma City                         ESPN                              8 p.m.

10/27      Portland at Los Angeles Clippers               ESPN                              10:30 p.m.

10/28      Washington at Orlando                              TNT                                8 p.m.

10/28      Phoenix at Utah                                         TNT                                10:30 p.m.

10/29      Orlando at Miami                                       ESPN/ESPN Deportes     8 p.m.

10/29      Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix                  ESPN/ESPN Deportes     10:30 p.m.

10/30      Denver at Houston                                     NBA TV                         8:30 p.m.

10/31      Utah at Oklahoma City                              NBA TV                         7 p.m.

11/1        Portland at Chicago                                    NBA TV                         8 p.m.

 

HOLIDAY NATIONAL TELEVISION GAMES

DATE     GAME                                                      NETWORK                   TIME (ET)

12/25      Chicago at New York                                ESPN/ESPN Deportes     12 p.m.

12/25      Boston at Orlando                                      ABC                               2:30 p.m.

12/25      Miami at Los Angeles Lakers                     ABC                               5 p.m.

12/25      Denver at Oklahoma City                          ESPN                              8 pm.

12/25      Portland at Golden State                            ESPN                              10:30 p.m.

1/17        Chicago at Memphis                                  ESPN                              1 p.m.

1/17        Sacramento at Atlanta                                NBA TV                         4 p.m.

1/17        Orlando at Boston                                      TNT                                8 p.m.

1/17        Oklahoma City at Los Angeles Lakers       TNT                                10:30 p.m.