STAMFORD, Conn. — The NBA’s return to NBC with a doubleheader on Tuesday night averaged 5.61 million viewers, the most-watched October opening night in 15 years according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel measurements and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

It was also an 87% increase over the 3 million that watched on TNT Sports last year.

The first game between the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets averaged 5.85 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.

The audience for the Thunder’s 125-124 double-overtime win peaked at 7.1 million for the second overtime period. It was the most-watched opening night game in the early window since 2010, when LeBron James made his debut for Miami. The Heat’s game against Boston averaged 7.4 million on TNT.

The Rockets-Thunder game saw a

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