NEW YORK — Players and coaches from both the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs said they were not affected by President Donald Trump’s presence at Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
“It is what it is,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said. “This is the NBA Finals. There’s going to be a lot of distractions, and you’ve just got to, as best you can, block them out and go play the game.”
Trump became the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game, where he sat in a suite with Knicks owner James Dolan and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. His presence prompted increased security measures, including enhanced TSA-style check-in for all players, fans, employees, and media members, conducted by Secret Service agents.
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was seen being thoroughly wanded and checked by a security team member before being granted access to the arena.
The New York City Police Department closed off a perimeter around MSG from West 30th to West 35th St. between 6th and 8th Ave to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Lines that stretched for three blocks had aggregated down the 8th Ave. corridor by 4:30 p.m. ET — roughly four hours before tip-off.
In anticipation of the logistical nightmare, the Knicks stayed in a downtown hotel to shorten their commute. It was the first time all season they stayed in a hotel before a home game.
There were strict no-bag policies, and even the players were told to limit the personal effects they brought into the arena.
“There’s a lot going on,” Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said. “But I’d rather be a part of it than not.”
Trump was shown only once on the Madison Square Garden scoreboard during the national anthem, as he saluted the flag, and he was loudly booed by the home crowd. He was seen debating officiating decisions with Silver and later appeared to doze off. He left with roughly seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
As has been the case throughout his time in the White House, Trump has always had a knack for making everything about himself, and the decision to inconvenience the thousands of patrons and participants in the arena, and the countless more who were forced to change their commute during rush hour — MSG sits atop the major railway transportation hub, Penn Station — only enforces that notion.
Some undoubtedly woke up on Tuesday morning and pointed the finger at the president for jinxing the Knicks. Their 13-game playoff win streak, which was the second-longest in NBA history, was snapped with a 115-111 Spurs triumph to cut New York’s series lead to 2-games-to-1.
“Nothing has to do with us stepping on that court and executing and being disciplined in our game plan and approach,” Knicks forward Karl-Anthony Towns said.
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