• by Adam Bernard , June 11, 2001

NBA and NBC don't need Michael, they need Allen. Iverson, that is. The overnight ratings for Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Friday night were the highest since 1998 (the last time Jordan laced up his Nikes), as the Los Angeles Lakers evened the series with the Philadelphia 76ers (which they then took a 2-1 lead in last night).

The game drew a 14.5 and a 26 share, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research, 16% higher than the 12.5/23 overnight for Game 2 last year between the Lakers and Indiana. It was 45% higher than the 10/19 for New York and San Antonio in 1999. The overnights are figures from 51 large markets.

Not surprisingly, Philadelphia had the highest rating Friday night, 36.9 with a 56 share, and Los Angeles was second at 30.6/52. The horses were good for the peacock network as well, as The Belmont Stakes drew a 4.9 overnight rating Saturday afternoon on NBC, 44% higher than on ABC last year, when the winners of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes did not participate in the Triple Crown's third leg.

Still on NBC, the taped telecast of Jennifer Capriati's marathon victory in the French Open final Saturday produced a 3.3 overnight. That's a 43% improvement from 2000 - when no American made the semifinals in Paris for the first time in the Open era - but 13% lower than 1999.

For the NHL, a rare Game 7 in the Stanley Cup finals drew the NHL championship's best overnight rating since at least 1997. Colorado's 3-1 victory over New Jersey to clinch the title Saturday night generated a 5.6 preliminary rating on ABC Sports. That's better than any Stanley Cup game in at least four years, according to the network, whose NHL overnight ratings data doesn't go beyond 1998.

There have been 13 final-round games televised on broadcast networks in that time. The rating is also 8% better than for Game 6 of last season's championship series, when New Jersey beat Dallas 2-1 in double overtime to clinch the title. For comparison's sake, the rating is less than half of what the World Series and NBA Finals each averaged in 2000.