New York, NY

The NBA's five-game Christmas Day schedule delivered big numbers on ABC and ESPN, based on overnight ratings according to Nielsen.

The Heat vs. Thunder game was the best of the day, Knicks at Lakers enjoyed the best-ever rating for early Christmas Day ABC game and the three games on ESPN were the highest rated triple header ever for the network.

Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat, which was aired at 5:30 p.m. on ABC, generated a 6.0 overnight rating, making it the fourth highest-rated NBA regular-season game ever on ABC.

It was also the highest rated NBA regular-season game on ABC in Oklahoma City (23.2), Miami (15.9) and Tulsa (10.9).

The Knicks vs Lakers, which was televised on ABC at 3PM, generated a 5.9 overnight rating, up 11% compared to Boston Celtics-Orlando Magic in 2010 (5.3).

It is the highest overnight rating in this window since 2004.

ESPN televised three games, and as a group they averaged a 2.1 rating, up 17% from a 1.8 in 2010.

The network's Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Clippers, aired at 10:30 p.m., generated a 2.0 overnight rating, becoming the second highest-rated ESPN Christmas Day prime-time game ever.

Boston Celtics at Brooklyn Nets, aired at 12 p.m., matched the fourth-best rating for an NBA regular-season game on ESPN ever in the city.

It delivered a 3.1 rating in Boston, matching the fourth-best rating for an NBA regular-season game on ESPN ever in the market. Furthermore, the game's 3.8 rating in Providence is the second-best rating for an NBA regular-season game on ESPN ever in the market.

Houston Rockets at Chicago Bulls aired at 8 p.m. generated a 1.7 overnight rating, up 21% compared to Denver Nuggets-Thunder in 2010 (1.4).

 

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