Click here<\/a>.<\/p>\nOfficials have urged ticket holders to arrive at least two hours before the 8:30pm (10.30 AEST Tuesday) tip-off to clear airport-style security screening. Bags will not be permitted inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe message is simple: celebrate the Knicks, but avoid the MSG area tonight if you do not have tickets for the game,\u201d NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told a news conference.<\/p>\n
Police downplayed broader security concerns after a stabbing late Sunday wounded six people at Penn Station, which sits beneath the venue. US media described the male suspect as emotionally disturbed with no terror links.<\/p>\n
An AFP reporter on Monday saw a 10-foot (three-metre) fence around parts of Madison Square Garden and a heavy presence of Secret Service personnel charged with protecting the US president.<\/p>\n
Spurs guard De\u2019Aaron Fox said during San Antonio\u2019s shoot around ahead of Game 3 that Trump\u2019s presence was \u201cinconvenient\u201d given the added measures.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the president being here just makes it inconvenient on everybody else,\u201d Fox said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe got more security, our buses were a little early…we\u2019re getting screened like it\u2019s TSA. It\u2019s a little inconvenient for the people that\u2019s got to play, but it is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prominent NBA pundit Stephen A. Smith had earlier urged Trump to stay away.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s coming to Game three of the Finals, and I don\u2019t want him there. It has nothing to do with politics, policy, or anything like that. It has everything to do with him disrupting and contributing at the same time to the chaos that\u2019s going to be existing at Madison Square Garden,\u201d Smith said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf it were Barack Obama coming to the Garden, I would say, \u2018Stay home.\u2019 Stay at the White House\u2026 I have been covering sports for over 30 years. And I\u2019m telling you right now, come Monday, for Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, I expect to see an environment I have never seen in my entire career covering sports.\u201d<\/p>\n
Largely players declined the opportunity to talk about Trump\u2019s attendance.<\/p>\n
Knicks forward OG Anunoby tried to downplay any impact it will have on his team.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll just be there watching the game,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to go as usual, play our game, try to win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The players will be able to say little else as credentialed media have been denied access to the locker room for pre-game interviews for the first time this season.<\/p>\n
Knicks fan Eric Velez, 45, said he planned to watch the game at a Manhattan bar because he did not have a ticket and could not get near the venue due to the security measures.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s looking good so far. I\u2019m nervous. Hopefully they do it this time,\u201d Velez said ahead of the game.<\/p>\n
– Packed venue –<\/p>\n
The Knicks have a commanding 2-0 lead in the best of seven series against the San Antonio Spurs, and now the action shifts to the Big Apple for games three and four.<\/p>\n
The team, chasing their first basketball championship since 1973, have whipped up a feverish following in the largest US city.<\/p>\n
Ticket prices for Monday\u2019s game are out of the reach of most New Yorkers, but the self-proclaimed \u201cWorld\u2019s Most Famous Arena\u201d will still be packed to the rafters, with celebrity fans courtside.<\/p>\n
Among those attending is New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who told reporters he paid nearly $1,000 for his tickets. He is not expected to watch alongside Trump.<\/p>\n
The Secret Service plans to deploy counter-drone technology as part of its operation to protect the US leader, who has faced three alleged assassination attempts in less than two years.<\/p>\n
Security is set up outside of Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, as President Donald Trump is set to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals.Source: AP<\/p>\n
Trump, a long-time Knicks fan, last visited Madison Square Garden in November 2024 to watch a UFC fight after his election victory. He earlier held a campaign rally at the venue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know what tonight means to New Yorkers who have been waiting a long time for an opportunity like this,\u201d Special Agent Matt McCool told reporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Secret Service\u2019s focus is straightforward: to ensure everyone attending the game can enjoy the game and have a safe experience, while we carry out our responsibility to protect the President of the United States.\u201d The New York Police Department said it would not increase security specifically at Penn Station because of Sunday\u2019s stabbing.<\/p>\n
NYPD Chief Michael LiPetri said that hundreds of officers are assigned to the transit hub, adding that the deployment there \u201cwill not change in light of the incident yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York\u2019s fabled Madison Square Garden has gone into virtual lockdown Monday as police implemented a tight security…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":724317,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[350843,2620,350845,350837,2095,64,63,11967,726,117613,350847,20507,350846,12835,2490,350848,350838,28670,11182,20516,20805,350844,1025,1666,348454,20590,2041,2067,331172,215060,12837,10549,350840,250378,111192,62162,85,350842,279190,350841,3370,130935,2614,350839,119672],"class_list":["post-724316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-action-shifts","tag-agence-france-presse","tag-airport-style-security-screening","tag-alleged-assassination-attempts","tag-america","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-barack-obama","tag-basketball","tag-basketball-championship","tag-basketball-series","tag-campaign-rally","tag-celebrity-fans-courtside","tag-deaaron-fox","tag-donald-trump","tag-election-victory","tag-eric-velez","tag-jessica-tisch","tag-locker-room","tag-madison-square-garden-lp","tag-manhattan","tag-michael-lipetri","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-new-york-police-department","tag-news-conference","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-penn-station","tag-playoff-games","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-spurs","tag-screaming-a-smith","tag-secret-service","tag-security-concerns","tag-security-measures","tag-sports","tag-spurs-guard","tag-stay-home","tag-terror-links","tag-texas","tag-ticket-prices","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-urged-ticket-holders","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=724316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/724317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=724316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=724316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=724316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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