'Basketball New Year' Begins Nov. 2
NEW YORK, Aug. 2 -- The defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons tip off the NBA's "Basketball New Year" as part of Premiere Week on Tuesday, Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. ET when they host the Houston Rockets at the Palace of Auburn Hills on opening night of the league's 59th season.
TNT's coverage of the Rockets-Pistons game, highlighted by the ring ceremony for the 2004 NBA champions and Tracy McGrady's regular-season debut with Houston, is the first of Premiere Week's 11 nationally televised games, including four straight nights of doubleheaders.
The second game of the opening night doubleheader on TNT features the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers from STAPLES Center at 10:30 p.m. ET as Turner Sports begins its 21st season of NBA game coverage.
ESPN's game coverage begins on Wednesday, Nov. 3 with a doubleheader headlined by Shaquille O'Neal's first game with the Miami Heat as they visit the New Jersey Nets at 8 p.m. ET. Coverage continues on ESPN at 10:30 p.m. ET as the Lakers take on the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center.
On Thursday, Nov. 4, TNT presents a doubleheader featuring 2003-04 got milk? Rookie of the Year LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers taking on the Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena at 8 p.m. ET. The Nuggets and Timberwolves contest follows on TNT at 10:30 p.m. ET as Denver looks to avenge last year's playoff defeat to reigning NBA MVP Kevin Garnett and his Minnesota teammates.
Premiere Week continues on Friday, Nov. 5 with ESPN's doubleheader featuring the Memphis Grizzlies playing host to Houston at 8 p.m. ET in their new arena, FedExForum. ESPN's second game of the night showcases the Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs from STAPLES Center at 10:30 p.m. ET.
NBA TV's first game of the season will feature Sacramento at Houston on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Premiere Week coverage continues with San Antonio at Seattle on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. ET on NBA TV and concludes with Detroit visiting the L.A. Clippers on Monday, Nov. 8 at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV.
ABC tips off its NBA game coverage with a Christmas Day match featuring Shaquille O'Neal's highly anticipated return to Los Angeles as the Heat visit the Lakers at 3 p.m. ET. The ABC national television schedule consists of 18 regular-season game broadcasts, including five weekends of regional coverage.
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Rivalry Week includes an
NBA Finals rematch between the Pistons and Lakers,
Feb. 25 on ESPN.
Nathaniel S. Butler
NBAE/Getty Images
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For the first time ever, the NBA schedule features a weeklong series of games that highlight regional contests, divisional games and historic playoff matchups as part of Rivalry Week, which runs from Tuesday, Feb. 22 through Wednesday, March 2.
During the week, ESPN will feature:
 Houston at San Antonio: Wednesday, Feb. 23, 9 p.m. ET
Cleveland at Indiana:
Friday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. ET
A a rematch of the 2004 NBA Finals as the Lakers host the Pistons (Friday, Feb. 25 at 10:30 p.m. ET)
Miami at Orlando: Sunday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Charlotte at New Orleans: Wednesday, March 2, 9 p.m. ET
As part of Rivalry Week, TNT will feature a doubleheader on Thursday, Feb. 24 as New York hosts Philadelphia at 7 p.m. ET, followed by Sacramento at Dallas at 9:30 p.m. ET, a renewal of their playoff rivalry from the past two seasons. NBA TV will televise other key matchups during Rivalry Week, rekindling historic playoff rivalries including:
Boston at the Lakers on Tuesday, Feb. 22 at 10:30 p.m. ET
Indiana at New York on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Utah at Houston on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 4 p.m. ET
The Lakers at New York on Monday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET
ESPN networks will televise 72 regular-season games, including 65 on ESPN and seven on ESPN2. ESPN networks will air 65 games on Wednesdays and Fridays, five on Sundays and two on Saturdays, including its third straight Christmas Day matinee featuring a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference Finals as the Indiana Pacers host the Detroit Pistons at Conseco Fieldhouse at 12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
TNT will televise 52 regular-season games, 46 as part of Thursday night doubleheaders, four games on Tuesday nights and two on Martin Luther King Jr. Day -– Monday, Jan. 17 -– featuring Houston at Memphis at 8 p.m. ET and Denver at Golden State at 10:30 p.m. ET. TNT will also carry NBA All-Star 2005 festivities in Denver from Feb. 18-20 culminating with the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 20.
NBA TV will televise 96 regular-season games to 66 million U.S. homes through Comcast Cable, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Cablevision, DIRECTV and DISH Network. NBA TV can also be seen in 38 other countries including Azerbaijan, France, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Spain, Russia and Turkey. NBA TV will also air more than 20 original programs including NBA TV Insiders, Destination Finals, NBA TV Screening Room and Basketball International; behind-the-scenes coverage of events, such as NBA All-Star 2005 and The Finals; complete nightly highlights; and up-to-the-minute information from around the league.
The NBA on ESPN Radio's 30-game regular-season schedule debuts with two games during Premiere Week -- opening night with the Rockets and Pistons from Detroit and Cleveland at Miami on Thursday, Nov. 4. The NBA on ESPN Radio will also carry all the events from NBA All-Star 2005 in Denver.
For the third straight season, ABC will exclusively broadcast the NBA Finals, which start on June 9. This season, ESPN will be the exclusive home of the 2005 NBA Western Conference Finals and TNT will exclusively televise the 2005 NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
NBA programming currently is seen in 212 countries around the world in 42 languages reaching a global audience of more than 750 million households.
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