Heat-Lakers game sets new ratings mark for ABC
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-12-28 09:09

The much-heralded Christmas Day matchup between Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers and Shaquille O'Neal's Miami Heat was the highest-rated regular season basketball game on television in nearly seven years, broadcaster ABC said on Monday.

Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat (R) and his former teammate Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers embrace prior to the start their Christmas day NBA game in Los Angeles, December 25, 2004. [Reuters]

Citing data from Nielsen Media Research, ABC said it was the highest-rated regular season game since Feb. 1998 and the highest-rated Christmas basketball game since at least 1996.

The game drew an 8 rating in metered markets, where each ratings point represents 1 percent of the 109.6 million homes with television sets nationwide.

Bryant and O'Neal had a turbulent relationship during the years when O'Neal starred with the Lakers. Saturday's game marked O'Neal's return to Los Angeles and the first matchup between him and Bryant since he was traded to the Heat.

Fans expected sparks after O'Neal described himself as a brick wall and said Bryant was a Corvette, and suggested the inevitable conclusion when one hits the other.

The game was relatively incident-free, though, and the Heat won 104-102 in overtime.

ABC is a unit of the Walt Disney Co.

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