TNT’s Emmy® Award-Winning NBA Studio Show to Broadcast Live On-Site For Two Highly Anticipated Match-ups
Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith will be live from Los Angeles for the network’s annual MLK Day doubleheader coverage on Jan. 17 and live from New York on Jan. 27 for announcement of All-Star StartersTNT’s Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith will ring in the New Year by taking their Emmy® Award-winning studio show on the road again for two more marquee match-ups. The trio will broadcast live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Martin Luther King Day (MLK) as the L.A. Lakers host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Mon., Jan. 17 (10:30 p.m. ET), and from Madison Square Garden in New York City on Thurs., Jan. 27 as the N.Y. Knicks take on the Miami Heat (8 p.m. ET). Prior to the Heat @ Knicks game, Johnson, Smith and Barkley will exclusively announce on TNT the 2011 NBA All-Star Starters during a one-hour pregame show.
- Jan. 17 (MLK Day) – Johnson, Barkley and Smith will tip-off the network’s MLK Day coverage with TNT NBA Tip-off at 8 p.m. ET, followed by an exclusive TNT doubleheader of playoff rematches. Immediately following the pre-game show, TNT will feature an Eastern Conference Finals rematch with the Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics. Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Reggie Miller (analyst) and Cheryl Miller (reporter) will call the action from Boston. The second game features Western Conference rivals as the Oklahoma City Thunder visit the two-time defending NBA champion L.A. Lakers at 10:30 p.m. (ET), with Marv Albert (play-by-play), Mike Fratello (analyst), Steve Kerr (analyst) and Craig Sager (reporter) courtside. The evening concludes with TNT’s postgame show, Inside the NBA, with Johnson, Barkley and Smith live from Los Angeles.
- Jan. 27 – TNT’s studio team gets the night underway with a one hour preview show of TNT NBA Tip-off (7 p.m. ET) featuring the exclusive announcement of the 2011 NBA All-Star Starters. The pregame show will also feature the NBA TV studio team of Matt Winer, Kevin McHale and Chris Webber live from TNT’s Atlanta studio. Following the announcement Albert, Kerr, Miller and Sager will call the action as the Miami Heat take on the New York Knicks at 8 p.m. (ET), followed by the Celtics visit to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers at 10:30 p.m.(ET). Harlan, Fratello and David Aldridge comprise the broadcast team at the Rose Garden. Winer, McHale and Webber will also handle the network’s signature postgame show, Inside the NBA.
Previously, Johnson, Barkley and Smith made their first onsite appearance on Oct. 26, in Boston for TNT’s opening night coverage of the Miami Heat visiting the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics. They returned to the road on Dec. 2, for Heat forward LeBron James’ first game in Cleveland since leaving the Cavaliers this offseason.TNT will once again serve as the exclusive home for NBA All-Star 2011, airing all the action on NBA All-Star Friday, NBA All-Star Saturday and the 2011 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 20, from Los Angeles. The network will also air over 40 NBA playoff games including, on an exclusive basis, conference semi-finals and the Eastern Conference Finals.
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