The NBA came back yesterday and TVs everywhere rejoiced.
The ratings for the five-game Christmas Day slate came back today with the games matching or surpassing some of their predecessors that were placed in the same position in previous years.
The Los Angeles Lakers 88-87 loss to the Chicago Bulls on ABC drew an overnight rating of 6.5. Only last year's Lakers game against the Miami Heat (7.3) and a 2004 Lakers-Heat matchup pitting Kobe Bryant against Shaquille O'Neal (7.9) had higher ratings for ABC.
The much-anticipated debut of Chris Paul with the Los Angeles Clippers was the last game of the evening but it dwarfed the numbers put up by last season's game in the same spot in the Christmas lineup. The Clippers 105-86 win over the Golden State Warriors drew a 2.3 overnight rating, up 77 percent over last year's game between the Warriors and the Portland Trail Blazers and marked the highest-rated Christmas prime-time game for ESPN.