Hawks Announce 2009-10 Regular Season Schedule

HAWKS ANNOUNCE 2009-10 NBA REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
Two straight home games to open season, Atlanta hosts Indiana on Wednesday, October 28
Hawks return to national TV, with seven televised contests (six on ESPN and one on TNT)

• Blog: Initial Thoughts On 2009-10

ATLANTA, GA (Aug. 4, 2009) -- The Atlanta Hawks and the National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced the 2009-10 schedule, and last year's Eastern Conference second-round playoff participant will open the season Wednesday, October 28th at Philips Arena against the Indiana Pacers at 7 p.m.

Following a Friday night home game against Washington (October 30), the Hawks will play the next four on the road, beginning Sunday, November 1 against the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. Atlanta will also visit Portland and Sacramento out west before finishing up the trip at Charlotte (November 6).

The Hawks were also informed they would be featured on national television for the most times in 12 seasons (six), with a total of seven appearances, six on ESPN and one on TNT. Atlanta's first nationally-televised game will come on November 13 at Boston, while four of the TV games will originate from Philips Arena, starting with the Thanksgiving night contest against the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic (8 p.m.). In addition, six Hawks' telecasts will be shown on NBA TV.

In addition to the home opener in October, other notable home games include two against the Cleveland Cavaliers (December 29, and the season finale on April 14), the Orlando Magic (November 26 and March 24), and the Boston Celtics (January 8 and 29), while the NBA champion Lakers will make their only Atlanta visit on Wednesday, March 31.

The 41-game home schedule is highlighted by 22 weekend dates - with 14 games on Fridays, four on Saturdays and four on Sundays. Atlanta will play five straight at Philips Arena between January 13 to January 22, and four consecutive road games on three different occasions. The Hawks' busiest month of competition comes in January when Atlanta plays a total of 16 games, nine of them at home, and they close out the 2009-10 season with eight of the final 14 games at Philips.

Not only will the Hawks play at home on Thanksgiving night, but Mike Woodson's team will also ring in the New Year on January 1st, when Atlanta hosts the New York Knicks at 7:30 p.m.

The majority of Hawks home games will start at 7 p.m., with most Friday games set to tipoff at 7:30 (the nationally-televised Friday contests will start at 8 p.m.). The Sunday games will be played at various times because of national TV obligations and Atlanta's annual Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday contest is scheduled for Monday, January 18 at 2 p.m.

The 2009 preseason and local TV schedules should be released in the coming weeks, and the start of training camp is set for Tuesday, September 29 at Philips Arena. Atlanta's annual media day activities will take place Monday, September 28 at 3 p.m., on the Philips Arena practice court.

Atlanta Hawks 2009-10 season tickets start as low at $10 per game and are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 1-866-715-1500. New this year, fans also have the option of purchasing the exciting 13-game Playoff Plan, which includes the home opener and 12 additional games versus 2009 playoff teams - including the Lakers, Cavaliers, and Celtics. Groups of 20 or more can guarantee their ticket purchases before the public on-sale date by placing a deposit through the Hawks ticket sales department at 1-866-715-1500. Individual regular season game tickets will go on sale at a later date. The Hawks, a member of the National Basketball Association since 1949, play in the Southeast Division, along with the Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards.

SPECIAL HOME GAMES
Opening Night - Wednesday, October 28 vs. Indiana Pacers
Thanksgiving Week - Thursday, November 26 vs. Orlando Magic
New Year's Day - Friday, January 1 vs. New York Knicks
Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday - Monday, January 18 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

MONTHLY HOME and AWAY GAMES
October Home (2)
November Home (6), Away (9)
December Home (7), Away (7)
January Home (9), Away (6)
February Home (6), Away (7)
March Home (8), Away (7)
April Home (3), Away (5)

DAILY HOME and AWAY GAMES
Sunday Home (4), Away (3)
Monday Home (2), Away (7)
Tuesday Home (2), Away (7)
Wednesday Home (14), Away (8)
Thursday Home (1), Away (0)
Friday Home (14), Away (7)
Saturday Home (4), Away (9)

BACK-to-BACK GAMES
Home/Home (0)
Home/Away (11)
Away/Away (5)
Away/Home (6)

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

-- Atlanta will play five straight home games between January 13th to 22nd; and four consecutive road games on three different occasions (November 1st -6, December 19th-26th, and February 17th- 22nd).

-- Atlanta will play 8-of-15 home games from March 19th to April 14th to close out the season, and 8-of-11 (with five straight at home) from January 1st to 22nd.

-- The Hawks will have four home afternoon contests - three of them on Sundays (and one MLK, Jr day game).

-- Atlanta will play 52 games before the All-Star break - 27 at Philips Arena.