The Boston Celtics’ win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night on ABC in Game 2 of the N.B.A. finals attracted an average of 15.5 million viewers, up from the 14.1 million for the comparable game last year. The Celtics’ knotting of the series competed directly against NBC’s broadcast of Game 5 of the N.H.L. finals, which was won by Chicago, 7-4, over Philadelphia. Its 4.0 overnight rating was up 54 percent over last year’s Game 5 between Pittsburgh and Detroit. Although each series matches teams in big markets, the half-hour rating breakdown showed the dominance of the N.B.A. game. At most points, the Boston-Los Angeles rating overwhelmed that of the Chicago-Philadelphia broadcast. From 10 to 10:30, the 10.1 for the N.B.A. game nearly tripled the 3.6 of the Blackhawks’ victory. Source: NY Times
