Game 1 of the Celtics-Warriors finals …

Game 1 of the Celtics-Warriors finals averaged 11.9 million combined viewers on Thursday for ABC (11.4 million) and ESPN2 (501,000). That’s better than the opening finals games during the past two pandemic-roiled seasons but still the lowest since Game 1 of the Cavs-Spurs in 2007 averaged 9.21 million. Sunday’s Game 2 averaged 11.91 million on the ABC-only broadcast. That’s the smallest Game 2 finals viewership since 8.55 million watched the San Antonio Spurs beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007. Peak average for this year’s Game 1 was 12.96 million at 10:45 p.m. for Boston’s 120-108 win over the league’s TV ratings darlings. Sunday’s Game 2 hit 14.1 million at 9:45 p.m. for Golden State’s 107-88 rout to even the series.