A pair of Game 5s involving the two highest-profile players in the NBA gave TNT strong numbers on Tuesday night.
The Lakers’ Game 5 blowout of the Thunder drew a 3.1 U.S. rating and 4.7 million viewers on TNT Tuesday night, up 41% and 40%, respectively, from Mavericks/Spurs Game 5 last year (2.2, 3.3 mil) and even in ratings and viewership compared to Suns/Spurs Game 5 in ’08 (3.1, 4.7 mil).
Earlier Tuesday night, the Cavaliers’ series-clinching Game 5 win over the Bulls drew a 2.8 U.S. rating and 4.2 million viewers — up 12% in ratings and 5% in viewership from last year’s overtime Bulls/Celtics Game 5 (2.5, 3.9 mil), and up 65% and 76%, respectively, from Mavericks/Hornets Game 5 in ’08 (1.7, 2.4 mil).
Bulls/Cavaliers and Thunder/Lakers stand as the two highest rated, most-viewed games of the playoffs on cable.
Elsewhere in the NBA Playoffs, TNT drew a 2.1 U.S. rating and 3.1 million viewers for Magic/Bobcats Game 4 on Monday night, up 11% in ratings and 16% in viewership from Hawks/Heat Game 4 last year (1.9, 2.6 mil).
Monday’s nightcap, Game 5 between the Trail Blazers and Suns, drew a 1.9 and 2.7 million, down 21% and 25%, respectively, from last year’s comparable Jazz/Lakers Game 5.
On Sunday, Mavericks/Spurs Game 4 drew a 2.1 and 3.3 million viewers, up 40% and 45%, respectively, from Magic/76ers Game 4 last year (1.5, 2.2 mil). Meanwhile, Nuggets/Jazz Game 4 drew a 2.1 and 3.2 million, flat in ratings and up 3% in viewership versus last year’s comparable Trail Blazers/Rockets Game 4 (2.1, 3.1 mil).
Finally, TNT drew a 1.2 U.S. rating and 1.7 million viewers for Magic/Bobcats Game 3 Saturday afternoon, down 25% and 20%, respectively, compared to Nuggets/Hornets Game 3 on ESPN a year earlier. Later that day, Suns/Trail Blazers Game 4 drew a 1.7 and 2.4 million, up 55% and 50%, respectively, from last year’s Spurs/Mavericks Game 4 (1.1, 1.7 mil).
