With the NBA Finals returning to MSG for the first time in 27 years and the president in attendance, both teams will try to do the impossible: pretend it’s just another game

NEW YORK — Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals will be Josh Hart’s 30th home playoff game as a member of the New York Knicks — the 30th time he’s seen fans fill the stands at Madison Square Garden for a contest that means more than most. He’s got a pretty good idea of what to expect.

“The Garden is going to be rocking,” Hart said Sunday at the Knicks’ practice session ahead of Game 3 on Monday night. “Obviously, in this city we love our Knicks. So we’re going to come out, show love, support. The energy is going to be electric.”

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There will be two major differences to the regularly scheduled raucous and rambunctious atmosphere, though. For one thing, Monday will mark the first NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden since June 25, 1999 — just a few weeks after the eldest Knick on this year’s roster, guard Jordan Clarkson, turned 7 years old — which promises to crank the ferocity of the Knicks’ fan base up to an even more feverish pitch.

“I think it’s really cool — 27 years since the last Finals here in this building,” Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson said. “I know the fan base is really excited, as they should be, but as a team, us inside the locker room, we have more work to do.”

“I mean, I feel like we kind of got a taste of [what it will feel like] a little bit in San Antonio,” San Antonio Spurs rookie Dylan Harper said. “I think that next game tomorrow is going to be electric. I think it’s going to be through the roof. I think it’s going to be everything that I’ve kind of seen or dreamed of times 10.”

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For another, there’s going to be a pretty big new addition to the ranks of famous faces at MSG. President Donald Trump plans to attend Monday’s Game 3, at the invitation of Knicks owner James L. Dolan, a longtime donor to local and national Republican parties and candidates, including the president. This will mark the first time a sitting U.S. president has ever attended an NBA Finals game.

“I think sports in particular is something where we can emphasize what we have in common, not what pulls us apart,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said this…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/with-the-nba-finals-returning-to-msg-for-the-first-time-in-27-years-and-the-president-in-attendance-both-teams-will-try-to-do-the-impossible-pretend-its-just-another-game-211923030.html

Author : Dan Devine

Publish date : 2026-06-07 21:19:00

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