Games abroad highlight 2009 preseason schedule

NEW YORK -- NBA Europe Live presented by EA SPORTS, an inaugural trip to Taiwan and return trips to Beijing and Mexico highlight the 2009 NBA preseason schedule, the NBA announced today. The 119-game slate tips off on Oct. 1 when the Denver Nuggets visit the Utah Jazz at 9 p.m. ET.

NBA Europe Live 2009 presented by EA SPORTS features single games each in London and Madrid, Spain. The NBA returns to London for the third consecutive year as Luol Deng, reigning T-Mobile Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls take on Deron Williams and the Utah Jazz at The O2 on Oct. 6. The Jazz then travels to Madrid where it plays host to European power Real Madrid at the Palacio de Deportes on Oct. 8.

The Indiana Pacers, led by 2008-09 NBA Most Improved Player Presented by Kia Motors award winner Danny Granger, and the Denver Nuggets, headlined by All-Stars Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, play a pair of games, one in China and one in Taiwan. On Oct. 8, the Pacers and Nuggets will tip off in the first NBA game played in Taipei, Taiwan. Later that week, the same teams will head to Beijing's Wukesong Arena on Oct. 11 where they will become the seventh and eighth NBA teams to play games in China.

Preseason basketball returns to Mexico when Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns face Elton Brand and the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 18 in Monterrey. This marks the NBA's second visit to Monterrey and the 18th game in Mexico overall, the most NBA games held in any country outside the United States and Canada.

Two Euroleague teams -- Partizan Belgrade of Serbia and Olympiacos Piraeus of Greece -- are slated to compete in four preseason games in the United States as part of the Euroleague American Tour 2009. The tour tips off on Oct. 3 in Denver when Partizan Belgrade makes its North American debut against the Nuggets. Partizan's second preseason game is in Phoenix against the Suns on Oct. 6. Olympiacos Piraeu, the 2008-09 Euroleague semifinalist, faces the four-time NBA champion Spurs in San Antonio on Oct. 9 in the first of their two games. Olympiacos makes the last stop in the Euroleague American Tour 2009 with a showdown in Cleveland against the Cavaliers on Oct. 12.

Another Euroleague team, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, is scheduled to play the New York Knicks on Oct. 18 in New York, and the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 20, in Los Angeles. Competition between NBA and Euroleague teams dates back to 1978, when Maccabi Tel Aviv played the Washington Bullets in Tel Aviv, Israel. Fifty-seven games have been played between European and NBA clubs.

ESPN is scheduled to televise a doubleheader on Oct. 23, the final day of preseason games. In the first game, the Orlando Magic and its quartet of All-Stars -- Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson -- host All-Star Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks (8 p.m. ET). The second contest features the Los Angeles Lakers, led by All-Stars Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, in their final preseason game before opening up defense of their NBA championship as they host the Nuggets (10:30 p.m. ET).

For the second consecutive season, TNT will air preseason coverage as the Golden State Warriors and lottery selection Stephon Curry take on the Suns in an outdoor game at Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Palm Springs, Calif. on Oct. 10 (9:30 p.m.ET). TNT also is slated to broadcast the Lakers-Nuggets game on Oct. 22 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. (10 p.m. ET).