NBA releases '11-'12 schedule

The Finals rematch between the Miami Heat and reigning champion Dallas
Mavericks on Christmas Day in Dallas is the ultimate gift for NBA
lovers worldwide.

That game will mark the first time the Heat and Mavericks face each
other since the Mavs wrapped things up in Game 6 of The Finals in June.
They'll play for a second time on March 29, 2012 in Miami on TNT.


That first meeting is the highlight of a Christmas Day tripleheader
that also includes Boston and New York at Madison Square Garden to
start the day and the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers at Staples
Center in the nightcap.

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There are, however, plenty of other gifts on the 2011-12 NBA schedule,
unveiled Tuesday afternoon, before and after those heavyweight
Christmas Day clashes.

The Bulls and Mavericks kick off the season in Dallas on Nov. 1 in the
front end of a doubleheader on TNT, followed by Western Conference
finalists Oklahoma City christening the Los Angeles Lakers' Mike Brown
era at Staples Center. Houston and new coach Kevin McHale open the
season that night as well in Utah.


That opening night schedule sets the table for a monster, 13-deep slate
of games on Nov. 2, including the Heat in New York against the Knicks.
The Cavaliers, with two of the top four picks in the June Draft, play
at Boston.


The first weekend of the season provides a Western Conference finals
rematch between the Mavericks and Thunder Nov. 5 in Dallas. The
Mavericks defeated the Thunder in five games, ending the upstart
Thunder's dreams of making The Finals in just their second season as a
playoff outfit under Scott Brooks.


The first shot at a rematch of the Eastern Conference finals doesn't
come until much later when the Bulls and Heat meet in Miami as the
opener of the Jan. 19 doubleheader on TNT. The Mavericks travel to Salt
Lake City to face the Jazz in the second game that night.

Philadelphia plays at Atlanta and New Orleans faces the Los Angeles Clippers in the Thanksgiving night doubleheader on TNT.

Few days on the schedule offer a more power-packed lineup of games than Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 16.


The actions begins with the Bulls in Memphis to face the Grizzlies.
Sacramento plays at the Knicks, the Rockets play the Bobcats in
Charlotte, Portland plays at Philadelphia, Denver at Washington,
Milwaukee at New Orleans, New Jersey at the Clippers, Toronto at the
Hawks, the Thunder at the Celtics and the Mavericks and Lakers wrap
things up that night in Los Angeles.

The regular season ends on April 18 with all 30 teams in action,
highlighted by the Orlando Magic playing the Celtics in Boston, the
76ers finishing things up against the Heat in Miami, the Rockets and
Mavericks battling in Dallas, the Lakers and Nuggets going in Denver,
the Bulls and Nets in New Jersey, the Thunder and Suns in Phoenix and
San Antonio facing the Kings in Sacramento.