NEW YORK - The New York Knicks are desperate to deliver for fans as Madison Square Garden hosts its first NBA Finals game in 27 years, with the five boroughs dreaming of an end to their title drought.
The Knicks have a 2-0 head start in the best-of-seven series against the favored San Antonio Spurs, keeping alive an extraordinary postseason run as they hope to lift the trophy for the first time since 1973.
"We got to be desperate for these fans," said All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, who has tamed the 7-foot-4-inch French superstar Victor Wembanyama. "Fans have earned the right and deserve the right to see Finals basketball be played here."
The arena has not seen an NBA Finals game since the Spurs beat the Knicks in 1999, with celebrities from Spike Lee to Ben Stiller waiting for more than a quarter-century.
President Donald Trump is expected to attend Game 3, prompting heightened security. The NYPD said there will be no watch parties outside the arena for Monday's game, enraging fans after 6,500 watched Game 2 on big screens.
Wembanyama, whose late-game blunder in Game 2 helped the Knicks take the series lead, said he has become skilled at tuning out the noise. "Isolating myself is something I've practiced over the years," he told reporters.