Bulls to open season in Oklahoma City

The NBA released highlights of its nationally televised games for the 2010-11 season and the Bulls were well represented.

They'll open the season at Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. The game will air on ESPN and feature two of the league's brightest young stars in Derrick Rose and Thunder forward Kevin Durant.

The league also revealed a Bulls home game against Portland on Monday, Nov. 1, which will be shown on NBA TV. That contest most likely is not the home opener. The full schedule will be released next Tuesday.

The Bulls will also make a couple of holiday appearances. On Christmas Day, the Bulls and Knicks at Madison Square Garden will be the first of five nationally-televised games, beginning at 11 a.m. on ESPN.

On Martin Luther King Day, the Bulls will visit Memphis, home of the Civil Rights Museum, at noon on ESPN.

The Bulls played on Christmas Day seven times in eight years from 1990-97 but have had the day off ever since. Their last Christmas road game was in 1986 at New York.

Opening night on Tuesday, Oct. 26, will feature a TNT doubleheader starting with the new-look Miami Heat visiting Boston. The Celtics are the defending Eastern Conference champs, while the Heat created a star-studded lineup of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh. The second game of the night features the defending NBA champion Lakers at home against Houston.

Some other opening-week highlights are top draft pick John Wall and Washington playing at Orlando, which will open a new arena, on Thursday, Oct. 28. A day later, the Magic will visit cross-state rival Miami.

The marquee game on Christmas Day will feature Miami at the Lakers on ABC at 4 p.m., preceded by Boston at Orlando.