Even without the West Coast numbers factored in for Game 1 of the NBA championship series, ABC took Thursday night easily in the primetime ratings thanks to the iconic matchup of the Lakers and Celtics.
According to Nielsen primetime live-plus numbers, ABC averaged a 3.9 rating/12 share, winning every half-hour easily, including from 8 to 8:30 with a special pre-game edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live (2.5/9).
Fox was the only other net in contention on the night, with a 3.2/10 for a two-hour original airing of So You Think You Can Dance.
CBS was third with a 1.5/5, followed by NBC with a 1.2/4, then The CW with a .5/2. All three aired repeats, except for NBC's comedy 100 Questions at 8:30-9, which could only muster a .9/3 as counter programming to ABC's pre-game show.
The ratings are time-period-based, so accurate West Coast viewing numbers will not be factored in until the nationals come out later in the day June 4, but that will almost certainly boost ABC's rating for the game.
