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NBA to open season with Nets vs. Warriors, Lakers vs. Clippers

Jesse D. Garrabrant / National Basketball Association / Getty

The Brooklyn Nets will host the Golden State Warriors to tip off the 2020-21 NBA season on Dec. 22, with the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Los Angeles Clippers following that game to cap off a doubleheader, the league announced Wednesday.

Both games will be broadcast on TNT.

The next day, the Boston Celtics will welcome the Milwaukee Bucks to open both of their seasons before Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks visit the new-look Phoenix Suns with Chris Paul.

A Nets-Warriors matchup will pit star Kevin Durant against Golden State, where he won two championships before departing for Brooklyn as a free agent in 2019.

The Lakers and Clippers also tipped off the 2019-20 campaign, with the latter winning 112-102. This season's contest will feature a reunion involving Montrezl Harrell, who signed with the Lakers last month following three seasons with the Clippers.

The Nets, Warriors, Lakers, and Clippers will all also be in action three days later on Christmas Day after the Miami Heat and New Orleans Pelicans open the five-game holiday slate.

Golden State and Brooklyn will travel to face the Bucks and Celtics, respectively, while the Lakers will host the Mavericks. The Clippers, meanwhile, will clash with the Nuggets in Denver in a rematch of last season's Western Conference semifinals that night.

No games are currently scheduled for Christmas Eve.

An opening-night game also ensures the Lakers will face the league's shortest turnaround between seasons. The team secured its 17th title on Oct. 11, meaning returning players, including LeBron James, will get just 72 days off before the new campaign.

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