Game 5 of NBA finals draws its highest preliminary television rating since 2004

Game 5 earns best preliminary rating since 2004

NEW YORK — Game 5 of the NBA finals drew its highest preliminary television rating since 2004.

The Boston Celtics’ 92-86 victory over the Lakers on Sunday night on ABC drew a 12.8 overnight rating. That’s up 36 percent from the 9.4 for last year’s Orlando-LA Game 5.

This series has been drawing higher ratings than the Celtics-Lakers matchup in 2008. The numbers have been the best since the Detroit-LA series six years ago. Game 5 that year earned a 15.5 overnight rating.

Ratings measure the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program. Overnight ratings represent the country’s largest markets.