ABC earned a 10.5 overnight Nielsen rating for last night's Mavericks-Heat NBA Finals Game Two from 9:00-11:45pm ET, down 3.7% from a 10.9 overnight for Lakers-Celtics Game Two last year, which aired on a Sunday night. The rating peaked at a 12.8 from 11:30-11:45pm as the game was finishing. The 10.5 overnight still marks the second-best Game Two rating over the last seven years, and is also up 15.4% from a 9.1 overnight for Heat-Mavericks Game Two in '06. The telecast led ABC to a win among all networks in primetime last night. NBA Finals telecasts have now been the top program in primetime on their respective night for 21 straight games. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale led all markets with a 35.1 local rating, marking ABC's best NBA rating ever in the market. Dallas-Ft. Worth earned a 25.6 local rating (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
THE THREE AMIGOS: ESPN/ABC NBA play-by-play announcer Mike Breen has worked alongside analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy for the "past four-plus seasons," and he is hoping his broadcast team can remain a "staple at the NBA finals." Breen said, "Continuity is an underrated part of this business. ... I just keep my fingers crossed because I know they are both going to get head-coaching jobs one of these days." In N.Y., Justin Terranova notes Van Gundy last year "talked about the possibility of returning to coaching and was a candidate for the Lakers' head-coach opening this offseason." Also, Jackson in recent years "has been a finalist for several head-coaching positions ... and remains a possibility" for the Warriors’ vacancy (N.Y. POST, 6/3). Meanwhile, after calling Tuesday's Mavericks-Heat Game One, Breen flew back to N.Y. "for his daughter's graduation, then back to Miami" for Game Two (N.Y. POST, 6/3).
