TNT's 2011 - 12 NBA Regular Season Tips Off Christmas Day

Turner's 28th Season of NBA Coverage tips off Christmas Day on TNT with the Boston Celtics @ New York Knicks (Noon ET) followed by exclusive doubleheaders on December 27th and 29th.

Turner Sports, marking its 28th year of coverage of the NBA, today announced that TNT will broadcast a total of 45 games during its coverage of the 2011-12 NBA regular season. TNT's slate of games will be highlighted by 10 scheduled appearances each by the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, as well as nine by the defending Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat. Also, the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks and the New York Knicks are scheduled for eight appearances. The network will feature 44 games in primetime, with 32 being part of TNT's Thursday night doubleheaders (full schedule listed below).

On Sunday, Dec. 25, TNT will once again tip off the NBA regular season. The day will begin with a special hour-long preview show, TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by AutoTrader.com at 11 a.m. (ET) with two-time Emmy(R) award-winning host Ernie Johnson, along with analysts Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, four-time NBA Champion Shaquille O'Neal and two-time NBA Champion Kenny Smith. The pre-game show will be followed at Noon (ET) with exclusive coverage of the Celtics visiting the Knicks to tip off the 2011-12 NBA season.

NBA on TNT Premiere Week Presented by AutoTrader.com continues on Tuesday, Dec. 27, with an exclusive doubleheader featuring the Celtics @ Heat (8 p.m. ET) followed by the Utah Jazz @ Lakers (10:30 p.m. ET). The action will continue on Thursday, Dec. 29, with another exclusive doubleheader featuring the Mavericks @ Oklahoma City Thunder (8 p.m. ET) followed by the Knicks @ Lakers (10:30 p.m. ET).

In addition to the games scheduled during NBA on TNT Premiere Week Presented by AutoTrader.com, the network's schedule features a number of marquee match-ups, including:

Monday, Jan. 16 - A special MLK Day doubleheader featuring the Thunder @ Celtics followed by the Lakers hosting the Mavericks (10:30 p.m. ET).

Thursday, Jan. 19 - Kobe Bryant and the Lakers travel to South Beach to take on LeBron James and the Heat (8 p.m. ET).

Thursday, Feb. 23 - A star-studded doubleheader featuring Dwyane Wade and the Heat hosting Amar'e Stoudemire and the Knicks (7 p.m. ET) followed by Pau Gasol and the Lakers visiting Kevin Durant and the Thunder (9:30 p.m. ET).

Thursday, Mar. 29 - A 2011 NBA Finals rematch featuring the Heat hosting the Mavericks (8 p.m. ET) followed by the Thunder @ Lakers (10:30 p.m.).

Tuesday, Apr. 24 - In a battle of the past two Eastern Conference champions, the Heat will travel to Boston to face the Celtics at 8 p.m. (ET).

"We look forward to another highly anticipated NBA season getting underway on TNT with a fantastic matchup on Christmas Day and two great doubleheaders during opening week," said David Levy, president of sales, distribution and sports, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. "With a schedule featuring marquee doubleheaders and multiple appearances by some of the league's most prominent teams, combined with our roster of talented and experienced announcers and analysts, TNT will once again be a weekly destination for fans, players and coaches during the NBA regular season."

Additional programming highlights include the network serving as the exclusive home for NBA All-Star 2012 from Feb. 24-26. TNT is slated to air all the action on NBA All-Star Friday, NBA All-Star Saturday and the 2012 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando. The network also will air more than 40 NBA playoff games including exclusive coverage of the conference semi-finals and the Western Conference Finals.

As part of its broadband coverage on TNT OverTime on NBA.com, TNT Overtime Extra, an interactive application will feature an enhanced live stream that will provide users with an HD-quality experience, as well as DVR functionality and alternate camera angles for TNT games.

The NBA on TNT's marquee roster of NBA announcers include: Marv Albert (play-by-play), Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), five-time NBA Champion Steve Kerr (analyst), four-time All-Star Reggie Miller (analyst), former NBA coach Mike Fratello (analyst), David Aldridge (reporter), Basketball Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller (reporter) and Craig Sager (reporter).

TNT is in its 24th consecutive year of NBA coverage. Sister network TBS aired the NBA exclusively for Turner Broadcasting System from 1984-89, with TNT serving as Turner's sole NBA cable home from 1990-94. Both networks aired NBA games from 1994-2002. Once again, TNT's entire regular and postseason telecasts will air in high definition.

Turner Sports, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is an industry leader in televised and online sports programming, airing championship level sporting events on TBS, TNT and truTV, and managing some of the most popular sports sites on the Internet. Turner Sports' television line-up includes the NBA, Major League Baseball, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, NASCAR and professional golf. The company's digital portfolio includes SI.com, NASCAR.COM, NCAA.com, PGATOUR.COM, GOLF.com and PGA.com, as well as an accompanying collection of mobile websites and connected device apps. Turner Sports and the NBA also jointly manage NBA Digital, which includes NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA Mobile, the NBA Game Time App, NBADLEAGUE.com and WNBA.com.