Last night was a vintage performance from LeBron James, as well as a couple of crucial performances from Anthony Davis and Rajon Rondo, in a major Lakers victory over the Houston Rockets to help them go up 2-1 in their best-of-seven series. But while Tuesday and Sunday were both huge wins for the Lakers, the series appears to have also been a major win for the NBA and its broadcast partners.
ESPN announced on Wednesday that the ratings made Lakers-Rockets Game 2 the most-watched game of the 2020 NBA Playoffs, which was broadcast on ABC, and it was the most-watched TV event 18-34 since the final episodes of ‘The Last Dance,’ back on May 17. Obviously, a combination of LeBron James and the Lakers’ massive fanbases was definitely a factor, as well as the stakes of the game. It also can’t be discounted the game was broadcast on network television, something that does not require a cable subscription.
🏀ABC's broadcast of #Lakers #Rockets GM2 on Sunday generated 5,432,000 viewers, peaking w/ 7,012,000 viewers from 1045-11PM ET. (Nielsen)
✔️Most-watched 2020 #NBAPlayoffs broadcast.
✔️Most-watched TV program in M18-34 demo since the finale of The Last Dance on ESPN (May 17). pic.twitter.com/Yt1Cy8gOkR
— Ben Cafardo (@Ben_ESPN) September 9, 2020
Game 4 of the Lakers-Rockets series is Thursday night at 4 p.m. Pacific time.
