Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat resulted in another winning night in the Nielsen ratings for ABC, TVbytheNumbers.com reported.

In preliminary numbers–which distort comparisons because they are likely to be adjusted significantly–the prime-time portion of the game scored a 6.3 average rating in adults 18-49, up 17% from the equivalent game a year ago.

At 8 p.m. ABC’s pre-game duo of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and "NBA Countdown" scored a 2.4 average and a 3.3, respectively, in the 18-49 demographic, which bested the first hour of Fox’s "So You Think You Can Dance" with a 2.4.

The tip-off of the game at 9 p.m. delivered an average of 5.65 in the 18-49 demographic for the hour, while hour two of "So You Think You Can Dance" had a 2.5 mean score in the same demo.

Hour two of the basketball game at 10 p.m. rose to a mean score of 6.9 in the 18-49 demo. Two fresh episodes of NBC’s sitcom "Love Bites" had a 1.0 and a 0.9 in the 18-49 demographic.