Lakers-Nuggets Breaks ESPN Hoops Record Again

Game one of the NBA Western Conference Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday was ESPN’s most-viewed basketball telecast ever, as well as the network’s highest-rated and most-viewed program of 2009.

The Lakers’ 105-103 victory in Los Angeles earned a 5.8 rating, drawing an average of 5.688 million households and 8.085 million viewers. Those figures topped the previous ESPN record, which lasted just one week—game six of the 2009 Western Conference Semifinals May 14.