Thunder Announces 2012-2013 Schedule

By NICK GALLO | Thunder Basketball Writer

The NBA announced this season’s schedule on Thursday, and for the Thunder, it is filled with high-profile matchups, marquee national television appearances and plenty of games with Western Conference implications. With 30 nationally-televised contests, including five on ABC, 10 on TNT, 10 on ESPN, and five on NBA TV, the Thunder will have plenty of opportunities to showcase itself throughout the season. The Thunder's exclusive local and regional television partner FOX Sports Oklahoma will carry the majority of the schedule, 70 games.

The season begins with a Western Conference Finals rematch against the San Antonio Spurs (11/1) which leads directly into a stretch of five of six games after that at home starting with a game against the Portland Trail Blazers (11/2) and ending with a matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers (11/11). The games against the Spurs and Trail Blazers make up the first of 15 back-to-back sets the Thunder will play throughout the year.

The day after Thanksgiving, the Thunder will travel to Boston to play the Celtics (11/23), and in early December the team will host its longest home stand of the season, a five-game stretch book-ended with rematches of Western Conference Playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers (12/7) and San Antonio Spurs (12/17).

Perhaps the most anticipated matchup of the year will be the Christmas night game at Miami (12/25) against the Heat in a rematch of the NBA Finals. Immediately after, the Thunder returns home to host the Dallas Mavericks (12/27) in a rematch of the first round of the 2012 Playoffs.

Once again, the Thunder will host its traditional Opening Night celebration with a home game on New Year’s Eve versus the Phoenix Suns (12/31). The 2012-2013 season will be fan friendly with 17 home games set to be played on Friday or Sunday, and seven-of-eight home Sunday contests slated to start at either noon or 6:00 p.m.

A tough stretch, featuring 11-of-13 games on the road, spans nearly the entirety of January. It starts with a trip to Toronto for a Sunday day game against the Raptors (1/6), then concludes with six straight road games, the last four all in California. The road trip is capped by a rematch of the Western Conference semi-finals against the Lakers (1/27).

That long road stretch is balanced by seven of 10 games at home surrounding the All-Star break in Houston, including a Valentine’s Day NBA Finals rematch against Miami (2/14) right before the break and a game at Houston (2/20) immediately after the All-Star break.

The Thunder will close out the season with a balance of road and home contests, with no more than three straight games away from home or in Oklahoma City.

In addition to the national and local TV schedule, all games are broadcast on the Thunder Radio Network, led by WWLS-FM (98.1) The Sports Animal. Single-game tickets for home games during the first half of the season (through Jan. 16th) go on sale to the general public and 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 2 online at thunder.nba.com.

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