The NBA’s greatest rivalry gave the Nielsen dials a workout over the weekend, as ABC’s coverage of Saturday night’s Lakers-Celtics game gave the league its biggest non-Christmas regular-season audience in seven years.
According to Nielsen live-same-day data, Boston’s 111-101 win averaged 4.61 million TV and streaming viewers, marking the NBA’s top in-season delivery since a Cavaliers-Celtics game drew 4.64 million viewers on Feb. 11, 2018.
In handing LA its first loss since Feb. 20, the Celtics snapped the Lakers’ eight-game winning streak, while setting the stage for a dream NBA Finals matchup.
The broadcast peaked with 5.34 million viewers from 9:15-9:30 p.m. ET.
Through the weekend action, the NBA’s average deliveries across ABC, ESPN and TNT are now averaging 1.57 million viewers per window, down just 2% compared to the year-ago period, which marks a significant turnaround compared with the start of the season.
Before the annual Christmas marathon tipped off, overall ratings were down 21%.
(The holiday slate all but erased that early deficit in one fell swoop, as overall deliveries were down 3% year-to-year in the wake of what was to be a five-year Yuletide high.)
The Celtics now have bragging rights as the NBA’s biggest draw, appearing in eight of the league’s 20 most-watched games of 2024-25.
The Lakers have popped up in seven of the top 20, edging the Warriors (six) and Knicks (five).
As the playoffs come into view, the 47-18 defending champs sit in second place in the Eastern Conference, trailing the can’t-lose Cavs, current possessors of a 14-game win streak.
The Luka Dončić-enhanced Lakers are third in the West at 40-23.
Dončić scored 34 points in a losing effort, while Boston’s Jayson Tatum led all comers with 40 points. LeBron James put up 22 points before going down with a groin injury in the fourth quarter.
James is expected to miss up to two weeks as he recovers from the strain.
Boston and LA have met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals, with 2010 serving as their most recent title clash. That seven-game series averaged 18.1 million viewers on ABC, peaking with the deciding frame (28.2 million).
