NBA: Nuggets, Celtics to play two preseason games in Abu Dhabi

The reigning National Basketball Association champions Denver Nuggets will face the Boston Celtics in a pair of preseason games in Abu Dhabi this October, the league said on Wednesday.

The Nuggets, whose squad includes two-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, and Celtics, who count five-time All-Star Jayson Tatum among their players, will meet on Oct. 4 and Oct. 6 in the third staging of the NBA Abu Dhabi Games.

Last June, Denver beat the Miami Heat to clinch their first NBA title in the team's 47-year NBA history while Boston lost in the penultimate round of the playoffs.

"We're excited to bring two of the best teams in the NBA to Abu Dhabi in the Celtics and the Nuggets," Mark Tatum, the NBA's deputy commissioner, said in a news release.

"There is incredible momentum around basketball in the UAE and across the Middle East, and we believe these games as well as our year-round grassroots development and fan engagement efforts will be a catalyst for the continued growth of the game in the region." — Reuters