Finals’ TV Ratings Rise but Rank as Third Lowest

The six-game NBA Finals on ABC averaged an 8.5 national Nielsen rating, up from an 8.2 for last year’s seven-game series in which San Antonio beat Detroit.

The 8.5 average rating equates to 6.2 million households and 13 million viewers.

ABC had the highest prime-time ratings on network television all six nights.

The 8.5 average rating, however, is third lowest since the Finals began airing live in prime time. Last year’s 8.2 was second lowest, and the record low of 6.5 was set in 2003, when San Antonio beat New Jersey in six games.

Through six games, last year’s Finals were averaging a 7.6. Game 7 last year got an 11.9.

In 1998, when Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won their sixth title in eight years, the average rating was an 18.7.

Game 6 of this year’s Finals had a 10.1 rating, up from an 8.8 for Game 6 last year.

In Los Angeles, Game 6 had a 12.2 rating and a viewing audience of 947,000. The six-game average was an 11.0 and 853,000 viewers.

NBC ended up with a 2.3 average rating for the five games it televised during the seven-game Stanley Cup finals won by Carolina over Edmonton. ABC averaged a 2.6 for the five games it televised in 2004, when Tampa Bay beat Calgary in seven games.

Game 7 Monday night got a 3.3 national rating and a 2.1 in Los Angeles. The 2.1 equates to 158,000 Southern California viewers.

-- Larry Stewart

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San Antonio traded center Rasho Nesterovic and cash to the Toronto Raptors for forwards Matt Bonner and Eric Williams, and a second-round pick in 2009, creating salary-cap flexibility for the Spurs.

Nesterovic, 30, has $23.5 million and three years left on his contract, while Bonner, 26, and Williams, 33, are beginning the final year of their contracts.

Nesterovic struggled in his bid to replace the retired David Robinson in signing with the Spurs three years ago, averaging only 4.5 points and 3.9 rebounds last season.

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Saying the team is $1.3 million short, Oklahoma City rejected a $3.2-million settlement offer from the New Orleans Hornets over excess revenues the team owes the city as part of a temporary relocation agreement after Hurricane Katrina.