Blazers open 2018-19 season against LeBron’s Lakers

The Portland Trail Blazers will tip-off their 49th NBA season by hosting LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, Oct. 18, it was announced Friday by the league.

The Trail Blazers will play nine of their first 13 games at the Moda Center to begin the 2018-19 season.

Portland will continue a three-game homestand to open the season by hosting San Antonio on Oct. 20 and Washington on Oct. 22.

As previously announced, the Trail Blazers are featured in the NBA Christmas Day schedule for the first time since 2010 as they will travel to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz in the fifth and final game of the day.

All 82 Trail Blazers games will be televised by national carriers or NBC Sports Northwest (Comcast Channel 37). The season opener is reportedly to be aired on TNT (cable Ch. 54).

Other home highlights include:

• Two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Dec. 29 and Feb. 13.

• The Lakers return to the Moda Center on Nov. 3.

• The Boston Celtics on Nov. 11.

• The Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 30.

Portland will take on 10 of 14 Western Conference opponents twice at home and twice on the road, while playing Houston, New Orleans, Phoenix and Sacramento only three times apiece. Of those matchups, the Trail Blazers host New Orleans and Phoenix twice, and Houston and Sacramento once.

The team will face each Eastern Conference team twice.

The Trail Blazers will close out the regular season on April 10 against Sacramento.

Around the League

James will make his one and only visit to Cleveland on Nov. 21 when the Lakers play the Cavaliers in the four-time MVP’s home state.

The regular season tips off Oct. 16 with Philadelphia visiting Boston and Oklahoma City at Golden State. The season concludes April 10.

Defending champion Golden State will play Houston for the first time since their Western Conference final went seven games on Nov. 15, while Toronto visits San Antonio on Jan. 3 in the first game between the teams since their big deal swapping DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard.

Utah and Orlando will play in Mexico City on Dec. 15, while the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards will play the NBA’s ninth regular-season game in London on Jan. 17.

The league is starting the season earlier in its push to limit the number of back-to-back games with teams averaging just 13.3 back-to-backs, a drop of 31 percent from 2014-15 when the average was 19.3 per team. No team will play four games in five days for a second straight season and for the first time ever no team will play eight games in a 12-day span.

TRAIL BLAZERS 2018-19 SCHEDULE

(All Times Pacific)

PRESEASON

Sept. 29 Toronto (at Vancouver, B.C.), 4 p.m.

Oct. 5 at Phoenix, 7 p.m.

Oct. 7 Jazz, 6 p.m.

Oct. 10 Phoenix, 6 p.m.

Oct. 12 Sacramento, 7 p.m.

REGULAR SEASON

Oct. 18 L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 20 San Antonio, 7 p.m.

Oct. 22 Washington, 7 p.m.

Oct. 25 at Orlando, 4 p.m.

Oct. 27 at Miami, 5 p.m.

Oct. 29 at Indiana, 4 p.m.

Oct. 30 at Houston, 5 p.m.

Nov. 1 New Orleans, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 3 L.A. Lakers, 7 p.m.

Nov. 4 Minnesota, 6 p.m.

Nov. 6 Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Nov. 8 L.A. Clippers, 7 p.m.

Nov. 11 Boston, 6 p.m.

Nov. 14 at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 16 at Minnesota, 5 p.m.

Nov. 18 at Washington, 3 p.m.

Nov. 20 at New York, 4:30 p.m.

Nov. 21 at Milwaukee, 5 p.m.

Nov. 23 at Golden State, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 25 L.A. Clippers, 6 p.m.

Nov. 28 Orlando, 7 p.m.

Nov. 30 Denver, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 2 at San Antonio, 4 p.m.

Dec. 4 at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.

Dec. 6 Phoenix, 7 p.m.

Dec. 8 Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Dec. 11 at Houston, 5 p.m.

Dec. 12 at Memphis, 5 p.m.

Dec. 14 Toronto, 7 p.m.

Dec. 17 at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 19 Memphis, 7 p.m.

Dec. 21 Utah, 7 p.m.

Dec. 23 Dallas, 6 p.m.

Dec. 25 at Utah, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 27 at Golden State, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 29 Golden State, 7 p.m.

Dec. 30 Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Jan. 1 at Sacramento, 6 p.m.

Jan. 4 Oklahoma City, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 5 Houston, 7 p.m.

Jan. 7 New York, 7 p.m.

Jan. 9 Chicago, 7 p.m.

Jan. 11 Charlotte, 7 p.m.

Jan. 13 at Denver, 5 p.m.

Jan. 14 at Sacramento, 7 p.m.

Jan. 16 Cleveland, 7 p.m.

Jan. 18 New Orleans, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 21 at Utah, 6 p.m.

Jan. 22 at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m.

Jan. 24 at Phoenix, 6 p.m.

Jan. 26 Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Jan. 30 Utah, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 5 Miami, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 7 San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 10 at Dallas, noon

Feb. 11 at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m.

Feb. 13 Golden State, 7 p.m.

Feb. 14 at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m.

Feb. 23 at Philadelphia, 10 a.m.

Feb. 25 at Cleveland, 4 p.m.

Feb. 27 at Boston, 4:30 p.m.

March 1 at Toronto, 4:30 p.m.

March 3 at Charlotte, 10 a.m.

March 5 at Memphis, 5 p.m.

March 7 Oklahoma City, 7:30 p.m.

March 9 Phoenix, 7 p.m.

March 12 at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m.

March 15 at New Orleans, 5 p.m.

March 16 at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m.

March 18 Indiana, 7:30 p.m.

March 20 Dallas, 7 p.m.

Macrh 23 Detroit, 7 p.m.

March 25 Brooklyn, 7 p.m.

March 27 at Chicago, 5 p.m.

March 29 at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m.

March 30 at Detroit, 4 p.m.

April 1 at Minnesota, 5 p.m.

April 3 Memphis, 7 p.m.

April 5 at Denver, 7:30 p.m.

April 7 Denver, 6 p.m.

April 9 at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m.

April 10 Sacramento, 7:30 p.m.