NBA: Lakers-Warriors Game 3 ratings set 24-year mark

Saturday’s playoff game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors marked the highest Game 3 audience of an NBA semifinals series in 24 years.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) fakes a shot and passes against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and forward Draymond Green (23) during the fourth quarter in Game 4 of an NBA basketball Western Conference semifinal. | Photo Credit: AP

Saturday’s playoff game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors marked the highest Game 3 audience of an NBA semifinals series in 24 years.

The game, a blowout win by the Lakers in the Western Conference best-of-seven series, peaked with 9,719,000 viewers, with an average audience of 8,373,000. It was also the most-watched conference semifinals contest -- of any game in the series -- in 12 years.

The Lakers beat the Warriors 127-97 to take a 2-1 lead in the series on Saturday. The Lakers followed up with a win Monday night in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead.