It's official: Mavs vs. Heat for Christmas
Coming Christmas Day, an NBA Finals rematch featuring the Dallas Mavericks against the visiting Miami Heat.
The NBA announced the official lineup for Dec. 25, expected to be the opening day for the 2011-12 season assuming all goes as planned with the final stages of labor negotiations set to begin today and the tentative labor agreement is passed next week.
The opener is set for a 1:30 p.m. (CT) tip and will be televised on ABC.
Five games are slated for the day: The Boston Celtics play at the New York Knicks (11 a.m.,TNT), the Chicago Bulls are at the Los Angeles Lakers (4 p.m., ABC), the Oklahoma City Thunder play the Orlando Magic (7 p.m., ESPN) and the Los Angeles Clippers face the Golden State Warriors (9:30 p.m., ESPN).
The remainder of the 66-game, 2011-12 season is expected to be released on Tuesday.
Tickets for the preseason game against Oklahoma City on Dec. 18 and for regular-season games are expected to go on sale some time after the NBA releases the schedule.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Tim MacMahon
Tim MacMahon joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. Tim covers the Cowboys and Mavericks. He has covered the local sports scene from high schools to colleges to pros during his six-year tenure at The Dallas Morning News. MacMahon is a graduate of UNT.
Marc Stein
Marc Stein began writing for ESPN.com in 2000 and signed on full-time in 2002 as Senior NBA Writer. He also makes regular appearances on "SportsCenter," "NBA Shootaround," "NBA Fastbreak," "NBA Coast To Coast," ESPNEWS, ESPN "First Take" and ESPN Radio.
103.3 FM ESPN PODCASTS
Play Podcast Chuck Cooperstein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss Game 6 of the NBA Finals. Coop is staying true to his pick that the Spurs will win in six games and says that the Heat's legacy is on the line.
Play Podcast Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle gives his take on the NBA Finals, talks about the Nets' decision to hire Jason Kidd, the advice he'd give Kidd about being a head coach in the NBA and more.
Play Podcast ESPN's Scott Van Pelt joins Fitzsimmons and Durrett to talk about the U.S. Open and the NBA Finals.
Play Podcast ESPN NBA insider Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the latest Mavericks news, Jason Kidd's interest in coaching the Nets and the NBA Finals.
Play Podcast ESPN senior NBA analyst Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the NBA Finals and latest Mavericks news.
Play Podcast Dirk Nowitzki joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett live in studio to discuss the moves he expects the Mavericks to make this summer, what his pitch would be to Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, and his upcoming Heroes Celebrity baseball game.
Play Podcast Hubie Brown joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss every angle of Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals and whether he would want Dwight Howard on his team.
Play Podcast Galloway & Company discuss Chris Paul's situation with the Clippers. Paul is unhappy being linked to the firing of his former coach. Could he join the Mavericks?
TEAM LEADERS
| POINTS | ||||||||||||
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Dirk Nowitzki
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| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| Rebounds | S. Marion | 7.8 | ||||||||||
| Assists | D. Collison | 5.1 | ||||||||||
| Steals | D. Collison | 1.2 | ||||||||||
| Blocks | E. Brand | 1.3 | ||||||||||
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