Madison Square Garden canceled the watch party outside the arena for Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night, scrapping a public gathering that had drawn thousands of fans after the first two games. The decision came as President Trump attended the game in person and security concerns tightened around the arena.
The move changed the scene outside Madison Square Garden just as the Knicks entered Game 3 two wins from the championship they have chased for 53 years. Fans had already turned the Midtown watch party into a massive celebration after victories in Games 1 and 2, but that excitement also brought problems the building and police could not ignore.
Over the first two games, the NYPD arrested or issued criminal court summonses to 34 people for rowdy behavior at the watch party, and one officer was assaulted by a fan who resisted arrest for disorderly conduct. Streets around the arena were blocked and became impassable to traffic, including ambulances, and a few fans climbed light fixtures during the celebrations.
That mix of jubilation and disorder left the arena with a harder call for Game 3. Most fans wanted to celebrate a team that had been the city’s only pro basketball club for most of its 80 years, but the small number of disruptive actions turned a festive crowd into a security problem. The result was a cancellation that affected the crowd outside the arena, not the game inside it.
What happens next is unsettled. Whether there will be a watch party for Game 4 is still up in the air, and that will depend on whether organizers believe they can keep the next gathering from repeating the same scenes that shut down Monday’s event.
