NEW YORK, July 26 (UPI) -- The Miami Heat will open their NBA title defense at home against the Boston Celtics when the NBA 2012-13 season opens, the league announced Thursday.
The Oct. 30 contest will be a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference semifinals, which Miami won after Boston had taken a 3-2 series lead. It will pit former Celtic Ray Allen against his old team, in his first game with the Heat, which signed him as a free agent during the off-season.
Opening Night will also feature Steve Nash, in his debut with the Los Angeles Lakers, taking on the visiting 2011 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks.
The schedule has five Christmas Day games -- the Celtics at the Brooklyn Nets; the New York Knicks at the LA Lakers; the Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami, in a rematch of the 2011-12 playoff finalists; followed by Houston at Chicago and Denver at the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Nets open the season in their new home Nov. 1 against the Knicks.
Jeremy Lin will make his debut with Houston in a road game at Detroit Oct. 31.
The all-star game is set for Feb. 17, 2013, in Houston.
The regular season ends April 17 and the post-season begins April 20.
