NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The New York Knicks are warning fans to bring as little as possible to Game 3 of the and encouraging them to arrive at least two hours before tipoff as part of enhanced security measures with .
The Knicks said Saturday that a would be in place and there would be 鈥淭SA-style screening procedures鈥� for fans when they enter Madison Square Garden for the game that is scheduled to begin just after 8:40 p.m. EDT.
Trump is a longtime Knicks fan who confirmed Friday that he would attend the first NBA Finals game in New York since 1999. He already has attended a number of major sporting events , including the , and .
The Knicks said there would be no storage at MSG for prohibited items brought to the arena. A list of them is available at
Trump鈥檚 visit also scuttled a Game 3 watch party outside MSG. The New York Police Department said in a statement Sunday the decision was made in coordination with the Secret Service.
鈥淭here will be no watch parties outside of Madison Square Garden for Game 3 only,” the statement said. “This was done fully in coordination with the Secret Service because of the presidential visit. We expect watch parties at Madison Square Garden to resume for Game 4.鈥�
Such parties, where thousands of fans pack in to watch the game on a big screen, have been a point of contention for the city鈥檚 police department, even without the complication of a presidential visit.
More than two-dozen people were arrested as Friday鈥檚 watch party spilled into the streets surrounding the Garden after the Knicks beat the Spurs in San Antonio. One woman was accused of punching a police officer in the face, the NYPD said.
Heading into the NBA Finals, the city had moved to cancel watch parties outside the arena altogether because of rowdy behavior at unofficial gatherings but later reversed itself and granted a permit for Game 1 last Wednesday.
Matt McCool, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service鈥檚 New York field office, said he understood that with the Knicks on a historic run there would be some disappointment from fans.
鈥淎t the same time, our responsibility is to ensure the highest level of public safety,” he said. 鈥淎fter careful coordination and assessment, the Secret Service and the NYPD jointly determined that outdoor watch parties could not be accommodated in the immediate vicinity of Madison Square Garden due to the security requirements associated with an event of this scale and the need to maintain a secure environment for protective operations.鈥�
Team-sanctioned watch parties will go on at Wollman Rink in Central Park and Brooklyn Bowl, the Knicks website said. Both events required advanced registration and were already at capacity as of Sunday afternoon.
___
Associated Press writers Michael Sisak and Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed to this report.
___
AP NBA:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
