Game 7: Most-watched NBA game in 12 years

UPDATED: ABC's coverage of the NBA Finals' climactic Game 7 gave the network the largest basketball audience in 12 years.

Thursday night's Game 7 -- which saw the LA Lakers defeat the Boston Celtics for the championship title -- delivered 28.2 million viewers, the biggest viewership since a Bulls vs. Jazz game in 1998. The game scored a hefty 11.4 rating among adults 18-49.

The face-off also marks the highest-rated NBA Finals game ever telecast on ABC, and climbing 32% from the last Game 7 to air (Pistons vs. Spurs in 2005). It was also TV's top non-Olympics summer telecast in nearly 10 years.

ABC's Finals coverage led the network to dominate primetime for all seven nights of the series, averaging 18.1 million viewers and a 7.3 rating -- the most-watched NBA Finals in nine years.