Basketball Scores High

By Stephen M. Silverman

06/15/2001 at 11:23 AM EDT

Clearly it wasn't just fans in L.A. and Philly who tuned in to watch the Lakers and the 76ers battle it out for the NBA Championship, according to the Nielsen ratings. NBC's broadcasts of the three initial games of pro basketball's championship series landed as the top three programs. Elsewhere in the numbers race, the sitcom "Kristin," the first of two NBC comedies to bow this month, got off to a mediocre start (reviews were not encouraging, either), suggesting that the show, which stars blonde Broadway darling Kristin Chenoweth, 31, may have a tough road to face. The Top 10 shows for the week of June 4-10:

1. "NBA Finals Game 3: L.A. Lakers at Philadelphia," NBC, 12.7, 13.0 million homes
2. "NBA Finals Game 1: Philadelphia at L.A. Lakers," NBC, 12.4, 12.7 million homes
3. "NBA Finals Game 2: Philadelphia at L.A. Lakers," NBC, 11.6, 11.9 million homes
4. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," Tuesday, ABC, 10.3, 10.5 million homes
5. "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 9.7, 9.9 million homes
6. "48 Hours," Monday, CBS, 9.4, 9.6 million homes
7. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," Sunday, ABC, 9.2, 9.4 million homes
8. "48 Hours," Thursday, CBS, 9.1, 9.3 million homes
9. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 9.0, 9.2 million homes
10. "60 Minutes," CBS, 8.8, 9.0 million homes