• by Wayne Friedman , June 5, 2009

The first NBA Finals game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic wasn't all that close or competitive -- but this didn't stop the game from improving on its ratings versus a year ago.

Nielsen preliminary results for the ABC telecast pointed up 12% for the key 18-49 viewers, with an average 4.4 rating/12 share among 18-49 viewers and 10.5 million viewers overall. The game did a bit better among the younger 18-34 crowd, with a 4.7 rating/14 share.

The only real competition to the game was Fox's sturdy summer reality dance show "So You Think You Can Dance?" While it took a hit -- down 16% from the week before -- it still posted a respectable 3.1/9 among both 18-49 and 18-34 viewers, counter-programming for female viewers. Last week's two-hour version earned a 3.6 rating.

NBC also offered originals for the night in search of the same female audience. But the effort was less successful. New show "The Listener" could only muster a 1.5/4 among 18-49 viewers at 10 p.m., coming in at third place between the NBA game and a repeat of "The Mentalist" from CBS. Earlier in the evening, NBC earned a 1.9/6 for "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!"

Looking to give the evening a big-event feel, ABC aired a special "Jimmy Kimmel Live" episode, which earned a decent 2.7 rating/10 share among 18-49 viewers. A year ago, the Kimmel special just before the first game of the NBA finals earned a 2.9/10.

For the night, ABC averaged a 3.9/11 among 18-49 viewers, and Fox posted a 2.4/7. Everyone else seemed to take the night off. CBS earned a 1.7/5; NBC had a 1.6/5; Univision earned a 1.5/4 and the CW finished at a 0.4/1.