NBA’s opening shots

The NBA unveiled its national television schedule for the opening week of the 2018-19 regular season in addition to the lineup of five Christmas Day games on ESPN networks and three Martin Luther King Jr. Day games on TNT. The season will tip off on Oct. 16. The complete game schedule and broadcast schedules for TNT, ESPN, ABC, NBA TV and ESPN Radio will be announced on Friday.

The first six days of the 2018-19 season (Oct. 16-21) will feature 15 different teams playing 11 national television games across TNT, ESPN and NBA TV as part of Kia NBA Tip-Off 2018. TNT and ESPN will each present two doubleheaders during the season’s first four days, starting with TNT’s doubleheader featuring the 76ers/Boston Celtics at 8p and Thunder/Warriors at 10:30p. ESPN will open its NBA coverage with a doubleheader on Oct. 17, beginning with Pelicans/Rockets at 8p, and then Mavericks/Suns at 10:30p.

Christmas Day sees five games running on ESPN and ABC, starting at noon with Bucks/Knicks on ESPN, Thunder/Rockets on ABC at 3p, 76ers/Celtics on ABC at 5:30p, a simulcast of Lakers/Warriors at 8p and ESPN wrapping up with Trail Blazers/Jazz at 10:30p.

TNT will present a tripleheader on Martin Luther King Jr. Day with coverage tipping off with the Pelicans/Grizzlies at 5:30p, Rockets/76ers at 8p and Warriors/Lakers at 10:30p.

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