Hype Pushes Ratings Higher

The Lakers didn’t get a victory, but ABC scored one.

The national overnight rating for Miami’s 104-102 overtime victory Saturday over the Lakers was an 8.0, the highest for a regular-season game since February 1998, when Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls against the Lakers on NBC.

The ratings, already expected to be high because of pre-game hype surrounding the Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant square-off, were further bolstered by a close and generally well-played game that needed five extra minutes to be settled.

Perhaps O’Neal knew what he was saying afterward when he mused that “the NBA made a lot of money” Saturday.

The 8.0 is the highest overnight rating for the Christmas Day game since at least 1996. The previous overnight high for a Christmas Day game was a 6.8 in 1997 for the Heat and Bulls. Last year’s Christmas Day game between the Lakers and Houston Rockets drew a 4.5.

An overnight rating comes from the nation’s 56 largest markets.

Saturday’s game drew a 17.0 rating and a 44 share in Los Angeles and a 13.7/21 in Miami. The overall share was 21.

Final national ratings will be available later this week.

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O’Neal, quiet and contemplative?

That was the image Miami Coach Stan Van Gundy portrayed of O’Neal after the Miami center fouled out of Saturday’s game.

“He was quiet, but very into the game,” Van Gundy said. “The one thing you have to understand about Shaq, Shaq knows what it’s all about. It’s not about which one of those two guys scored more points, it’s not about anything else. It’s about which team wins and that’s something if you people are around in L.A. a long time, you should have already realized.”

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Overshadowed because of the presence of O’Neal, Laker center Chris Mihm had 11 points and 14 rebounds Saturday despite playing 35 minutes, the fewest of any starter on either team.

Said Mihm: “I know Shaq, and we have talked quite a bit over the years. He just told me that I am doing well out here and playing good ball and just wanted to see me get some more touches.”

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O’Neal’s math was a little off when he said the ovation he received at Staples Center was “89.2% cheers and 11.8% boos.”

It added up to 101%.

Times staff writer Larry Stewart and Times wire services contributed to this report.