The Vibe Inside Madison Square Garden During Knicks-Spurs Game 3
On Monday night, for the first time since 1999, the New York Knicks hosted an NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden. Given their commanding 2-0 lead in the series over the visiting San Antonio Spurs—and the fact that the Knicks haven’t won a title since 1973, before 67% of the city’s current residents were born—the vibes in New York in the days leading up to Game 3 had been impossibly high. Spike Lee was paraded through the streets of Brooklyn like the Pope. French Montana, Max B, and Remy Ma recorded a New York-centric remix and music video to the former’s “Since U Left Me” at MSG. And the area around the arena had transformed into an epicenter of hope and hype, with official watch parties attracting thousands of raucous fans and a gaggle of enterprising vendors.
But that energy was somewhat hindered on Monday, thanks in no small part to President Trump, who attended the game at the invitation of Knicks owner James Dolan, and whose outsized security apparatus caused the watch party outside the Garden to be cancelled. It took Jason Nocito, the photographer who shot this essay, several attempts and a 30-minute validation period to find his way into the building.
Once Nocito made it inside, however, the atmosphere he was greeted with was powerful. The decibels red-lined as the game tipped off. And when the Knicks went on a run in the second quarter to erase a 12-point Spurs lead, the crowd noise reverberated through your bones. There was also no shortage of extremely New York moments to be had: I really liked halftime performer Cardi B’s insane response when asked by Entertainment Tonight what a Championship win would mean for the city: “The rats will disappear, trees will start growing, potholes will be filled, rains of glitter are coming down, the Statue of Liberty is going to finally walk.” Knicks superfan Timothée Chalamet was there, of course, and wearing yet more custom Chrome Hearts. And when Knicks point guard Jose Alvarado dove into the front row to save a loose ball, he bodyslammed former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg.
In the end, however, the crowd was sent home disappointed by a 115-111 Spurs victory. The euphoria of a Finals W on home court would have to wait for another day. “The most rigged bullshit sport in the world!” Nocito heard one fan exclaim as he shuffled out of the building.
After the buzzer sounded, Spurs megastar Victor Wembanyama gave a brief interview. In the first quarter, he shoved the Knicks’ megastar Jalen Brunson, and started laughing; no foul was called, and the Alien has become someone even more villainous in New Yorkers’ eyes over the past 24 odd hours.
His response following the game sort of felt like a warning. When asked about what worked in the Spurs’ late-game execution, he replied with the composed frostiness of a Bond villain: “Less mistakes. More control.” Then, a follow up as to whether this win would change his team’s morale. “Not really. We are all the time confident.”
Game 4 tips tomorrow at 8:30 PM EST.
