The NBA Finals — now going to Game 6 after the Cleveland Cavaliers prevailed in a must-win Game 5 on Monday night — have been the second-most watched Finals series ever on ABC through five games, according to Nielsen.
Monday night's game, a game in which Kyrie Irving and LeBron James combined for 82 points to give the Cavs a 112-97 victory, averaged 20.52 million viewers, up more than four million when compared to Game 4. It peaked with 23.96 million viewers from 11:15-11:30 p.m. ET, the highest of the series thus far.
It also matched last year's Game 5 as the highest-rated Game 5 since 2004, when the Detroit Pistons clinched the series against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Still down 3-2 in the series and faced with another must-win, the Cavaliers will travel back home for Game 6, set for Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET.
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