After a good start for an overtime Game 1, the Pacers-Celtics Eastern Conference Finals stumbled in a less-competitive Game 2. Thursday’s Pacers-Celtics NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 2 averaged a 3.1 rating and 5.64 million viewers on ESPN, flat in ratings and down 8% in viewership from Heat-Celtics on TNT last year (3.1, 6.13M) and the least-watched conference final game since 2021, when the round took place in late June and early July. Compared to last year’s conference final on ESPN — Lakers-Nuggets in the West — ratings fell 25% (from 4.1) and viewership 26% (from 7.66 million).