Although Tony Awards telecasts have never been ratings goldmines, last night’s event had to compete with golf and basketball. Yesterday’s contest between the Celtics and the Lakers gave ABC another win in both the viewers and the demos.

8pm

• NBC‘s coverage of the U.S. Open (3.9/13 in-18-49) attracted 13.8 million golf fans.
• Jimmy Kimmel‘s special (8.2 million, 3.2/11) did 800,000 better than last Sunday; the NBA pre-game show (9.8 million, 4.0/12) grew by 1.9 million.
• Approximately 6.2 million theater lovers watched the 2008 Tony Awards (1.1/3).
• The Simpsons* (3.7 million, 1.8/6) was down by 400,000; King of the Hill* (3.6 million, 1.7/5) slipped by 300,000.
• Everybody Hates Chris* (1.1 million, 0.4/1) and Aliens in America* (1.1 million, 0.4/1) turned out similar numbers.

9pm

• Family Guy* (5.0 million, 2.3/6 in 18-49) was off track by 300,000; American Dad* (4.5 million, 2.1/6) shrunk by 600,000.
• A special Saturday Night Live* (1.9/5) drew in 4.6 million Mike Myers fans.
• The Game* (1.1 million, 0.5/1) did the same as its lead-ins; Girlfriends* (1 million, 0.4/1) did just as well.

10pm

• Game 5 of the NBA Finals (5.6/15 in 18-49) averaged 13.6 million between 9-11 pm.

*denotes repeat

(You can review last Sunday’s ratings here.)