Cavaliers-Warriors matchup draws big audience for ABC again

NEW YORK -- A strong start to the NBA Finals -- at least from a television viewer's standpoint -- is working to ABC's advantage.

The Cleveland Cavaliers' series-tying overtime win over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday reached more than 19 million viewers, easily the most-watched television event of the week. The Nielsen company said the series' opening game earlier in the week drew 17.8 million TV viewers.

Both games helped ABC to an easy victory in last week's prime-time ratings competition.

The most-watched NBA Finals since 2001 was the seven-game series between Boston and the L.A. Lakers in 2010. If the current series stays competitive, it could match or beat that series.