Per Multichannel News…

ESPN’s exclusive telecast of the Eastern Conference semifinal Game 6 on May 13 averaged a 6.6 household rating and 8.93 million viewers, according to Nielsen data, the second most ever for the network with a basketball game. Celts-Cavs trailed only the 6.9 rating and 9.88 million watchers ESPN averaged with its Game 4 coverage of the 2009 Western Conference finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets.

The Cleveland/Boston telecast is now ESPN’s highest-rated and most-viewed conference semifinal to date, surpassing last year’s Game 6 between the Lakers and Houston Rockets, which posted a 5.4 rating and 7.35 million viewers.

ESPN officials said the May 13 telecast is the worldwide leader’s third most-viewed program of 2010 and the fifth most-watched NBA playoff game in cable history among households and viewers.

Now that LeBron has been eliminated from the postseason, it will be interesting to see if his pending free agency overshadows what is shaping up to be a pretty competitive NBA final four.