• by Paul Gough , May 16, 2003

The NBA playoff matchups between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs dominated cable for the week ended May 11, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The Monday, Wednesday and Friday games between the two teams earned ratings of 4.5, 4.2 and 4.1 when they aired on TNT. More than 4 million households and 6.5 million people watched the games. The top sports program was the first game of the playoffs, which aired on ABC, and delivered a 5.7/15 with 8.2 million people watching the Sunday afternoon game.

The top pay cable program was HBO's Six Feet Under, which delivered a 3.2 rating with 5 million people tuning in. A 9 p.m. Tuesday telecast of Spider-Man, also on HBO, was the second-highest-rated pay-cable program with a rating of 1.9 and 2.8 million people tuning in.

In syndication, the top programs were Wheel of Fortune (8.8 rating, 9.4 million households); Jeopardy (7 rating, 7.4 million households); Seinfeld (6.6, 7 million households); Friends (6.4 rating, 6.8 million households); and Oprah Winfrey Show (6 rating, 6.4 million households).

The top 10 basic-cable programs according to Nielsen Media Research:

1. NBA Lakers-Spurs Playoff Monday (TNT), 4.5, 6.5 million people.

2. NBA Lakers-Spurs Playoffs Wednesday (TNT), 4.2, 6.1 million people.

3. NBA Lakers-Spurs Playoffs Friday (TNT), 4.1, 6 million people.

4. WWE Entertainment/WWE Raw Zone (TNN), 2.9, 4.6 million people.

5. NBA Kings-Mavericks (ESPN), 2.9, 4 million people.

6. Fairly Odd Parents (Nickelodeon), 2.8, 4.1 million people.

7. Spongebob (Nickelodeon), 2.8, 4.1 million people.

8. NBA Kings-Mavericks Playoff, 2.8, 3.6 million people.

9. NBA Kings-Maverick Playoff, 2.7, 3.5 million people.

10. Spongebob (Nickelodeon), 2.7, 3.5 million people.