Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant #24 shoots against Los Angeles Clippers forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute #12 in the first half. The Lakers hosted the Clippers on a Christmas Day game at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. 12/25/2015 (photo by John McCoy/Los Angeles News Group)
Even as they encounter the worst stretch of their franchise’s history, the Lakers still remained enough of a draw for the NBA to feature them on their slate of Christmas Day games. Kobe Bryant’s presence surely helped.
But the Lakers’ loss to the Clippers on Friday at Staples Center still marked the lowest of the five NBA games broadcast on Christmas Day. The Lakers drew a 2.2 overnight rating and a 4.2 rating in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the NBA Finals rematch between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Caveliers drew a 6.7 overnight rating, a 21.2 rating in the Cleveland market and a 16.0 rating in the San Francisco market.
The interest in the Lakers-Clippers matchup, perhaps also aided by the 7:30 p.m. tipoff time, also drew less intrigue than Thunder-Bulls (4.0 overnight rating, 12.1 in Oklahoma City market, 8.4 in Chicago market), Spurs-Rockets (2.5 overnight rating, 6.9 in San Antonio market, 3.8 in Houston market) and Pelicans-Heat (2.3 overnight rating, 5.3 in New Orleans market, 4.1 in Miami market).
The Lakers-Clippers game was also aired locally by the team’s broadcast partners, including the Lakers (Time Warner Cable SportsNet) and the Clippers (Prime Ticket).
RELATED:
Lakers’ Kobe Bryant eyeing food, wine and competition in Boston
Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell wishes he had same opportunities Chris Paul had under Byron Scott
Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com