NBA tips off season with five games on Christmas Day

NEW YORK -- The NBA today announced that the league's 66th season will tip off Christmas Day with a five-game slate, contingent on timely ratification of the new collective bargaining agreement.

Kia NBA Tip-Off '11 will launch on TNT with one of the NBA's oldest and most intense rivalries. The Boston Celtics, featuring their All-Star foursome of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo, visit the New York Knicks (12 p.m. ET) with their dynamic tandem of Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire. Kia Motors, the Official Automotive Partner of the NBA, is in its second consecutive season as the title partner of NBA Tip-Off.

The action then will shift to ABC for an afternoon doubleheader when in a rematch of The Finals, 2011 Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki and All-Star Jason Kidd lead the reigning champion Dallas Mavericks against the Miami Heat and its power trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in the first game (2:30 p.m. ET). Prior to tip-off, Dallas will raise its NBA championship banner. The second game features 2011 Kia NBA MVP Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls, who won a league-best 62 games last season, visiting the Los Angeles Lakers (5 p.m. ET) with perennial All-Star Kobe Bryant making his record-tying 13th Christmas Day appearance.

ESPN will round out the day with a pair of matchups. Two-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant leads the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Orlando Magic, which features three-time Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard (8 p.m. ET). Afterward, the Los Angeles Clippers and 2010-11 NBA Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin visit the Golden State Warriors and rookie head coach and former NBA great Mark Jackson (10:30 p.m. ET).

The 2011-12 NBA season will feature each team playing a 66-game schedule. The full regular-season and broadcast schedules will be released at a future date.

Last season, NBA games and programming were available in 215 countries and territories in 46 languages.