Rejoice Dallas Mavericks fans! It’s Luka vs. LeBron on Christmas Day!
The Dallas Mavericks finally know when and where their 2020-21 season starts.
The Mavericks will start with two high-profile games on the road, including their season opener Dec. 23 against the Phoenix Suns and a showdown with the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Christmas Day.
The Mavs-Suns game is scheduled to air on ESPN at 9:30 p.m. Dec. 23. The Suns acquired 10-time All-Star guard Chris Paul in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder last month.
The Christmas Day game is the fourth of a five-game extravaganza and is scheduled for 7 p.m. The day starts with the New Orleans Pelicans at the Miami Heat at 11 a.m., followed by the Golden State Warriors at the Milwaukee Bucks at 1:30 p.m., the Brooklyn Nets at the Boston Celtics at 4 p.m., the Mavs and Lakers at 7 p.m. and the Los Angeles Clippers at the Denver Nuggets at 9:30 p.m.
The Mavs-Lakers game will be televised on ABC and ESPN. The Pelicans-Heat game will be on ESPN, the Warriors-Bucks and Nets-Celtics will be on ABC, and the Clippers-Nuggets will be on ESPN.
The NBA season has been shortened by 10 games to 72 because of the pandemic. The league has yet to announce if fans will be allowed to attend games. With COVID-19 surging in much of the country, it’s highly unlikely fans will be permitted for at least the first month or two of the season.
The Mavericks will play three preseason games. They will play at Milwaukee on Dec. 12 and 14 at 7 p.m. and they’ll host the Minnesota Timberwolves at American Airlines Center on Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 4:02 PM.
