Clippers - Lakers Draws Massive Audience for NBA's Opening Night in Orlando
After a four-month delay, the NBA season finally restarted on Thursday night — and fans of the LA Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers poured in to catch up on the action.
According to Turner Sports, the game held an average of 3.4 million views — more than double the regular-season average — and peaked at an average of 4.1 million viewers within the first hour.
It's no surprise to see that the game performed so well. Aside from all the star power present in the matchup in Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, the Clippers and Lakers perfectly delivered on the hype.
The contest was close throughout, with both teams leading by as many as 11 points, and it could've gone either way in the final minutes.
Ultimately, the ball bounced the Lakers' way, and the Clippers fell 101-103 in their seeding game debut.
Leonard and George each played terrific basketball for LA, combining for 58 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, five steals and two blocks and connecting on 9-of-15 attempts from beyond the arc.
"Overall I thought we fought all night," Leonard said after the game. "Definitely got to get better with some of our execution. Pretty good game."
With this contest out of the way, the Clippers still have seven seeding games to play until the postseason begins in mid-August. Their next game comes on Saturday, and it's another matchup that could rank highly as well, as they'll face Zion Williamson's New Orleans Pelicans at 6:00 p.m. ET
