Even in a blowout, the highly-anticipated Lakers/Thunder series attracted strong numbers for TNT.
Game 1 of the Lakers/Thunder second round NBA playoff series drew 6.687 million viewers on TNT Monday night, up 4% from Mavericks/Lakers Game 1 last year (6.429M), and up 63% from Spurs/Suns Game 1 in 2010 (4.110M).
The game earned the largest audience of the playoffs on cable, topping Nuggets/Lakers Game 7 two nights earlier (6.464M).
Of the 25 NBA playoff telecasts on TNT that can be compared to last year, Monday’s game was just the eighth to have an increase in viewership. All eight games have involved the Heat, Lakers and/or Thunder.
Earlier in the night, Game 2 of the Sixers/Celtics series drew 4.016 million — down 28% from Hawks/Bulls Game 1 last year (5.588M), and down 27% from Celtics/Cavaliers Game 2 in 2010 (5.499M).
(Monday’s numbers from TV By the Numbers)
