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Game 7 of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets series gave the NBA a major boost in TV ratings.
The game, which averaged 4.11 million viewers, was the most-watched opening round playoff game on cable in two years, trailing the 6.07 million average who tuned into the Game 4 of the Cavaliers vs. Pacers 2018 series, according to Sports Media Watch.
It was ESPN’s most-watched opening round game in three years. Wednesday’s game, the first opening round Gamy 7 that ESPN has aired since 2003, had the best viewership since Game 3 of the 2017 Golden State Warriors vs. Portland Trail Blazers series that attracted 4.38 million viewers.
The Thunder and Rockets Game 7, which matchup up Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook against their respective former teams, had much higher ratings than the other Game 7 that took place in the first round, the Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets.
The Nuggets victory averaged 3.39 million viewers Tuesday on ABC.
Oklahoma City’s Game 7 also had better viewership than last year’s only first-round Game 7. That games, a Spurs vs. Nuggets matchup on a Saturday night on TNT, averaged 3.49 million viewers. The Thunder increased this by 18%.
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This Thunder and Rockets game was the most-watched since NBA play came back, even with some people on social media saying the protests last week caused them to stop watching games.
It had the best audience for an NBA game since the Los Angeles Lakers’ January 31 game against the Trail Blazers, which was the Lakers’ first game back following the death of Kobe Bryant
Outside the NBA, the Thunder and Rockets game had the best sports audience since the NFL Draft that took place in April.
It topped the MLB opener featuring the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals that averaged 4.01 million viewers.
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