Donald Trump's arrival at Madison Square Garden was almost as anticipated as tipoff itself ... with POTUS instantly becoming part of the show when he stepped into the building for Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Watch for yourself ... the MSG faithful made their feelings known ... turning Trump's appearance during the National Anthem into one of the loudest moments of the night so far.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez thinks President Donald Trump'sreception at the NBA Finals could come down to one thing ... the price of admission.
Jacobcaught up with the Congresswoman from New York on Capitol Hill Monday, where she kicked things off by joining in on a viral Knicks rallying cry that's been making the rounds online -- "My mayor is Muslim, my bagel is Jewish, my Christian's Dior ... Knicks in 4!"
Waiting for your permission to load the Twitter Tweet.
Check out the clip ... after sharing a laugh over the chant, AOC was asked what kind of welcome Trump can expect when he shows up at Madison Square Garden for Game 3.
The NY Knicks are two games from their first NBA title in 53 years, but President Trump's presence at Madison Square Garden has dominated much of the conversation... begging the question, will it distract the hometown team?!
No, not at all ... according to former NBA star Zach Randolph, who TMZ Sports ran into at LAX on Monday.
"At this stage where these guys are playing for a championship, I don't think that's going to distract [the Knicks] because it's more important things than, you know, getting distracted by the president," the 2x NBA All-Star said.
Cardi B is making the first NBA Finals game in New York City in 27 years even more epic ... TMZ has confirmed she's performing at Game 3.
A source tells us the "WAP" singer will be the star of the halftime show Monday night when the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs head to the locker room.
Cardi will be among a huge list of celebs in the house at Madison Square Garden for the first NBA Finals matchup at MSG since the Knicks and the Spurs back in 1999.
PresidentDonald Trump's trip to the NBA Finals is getting boxed out by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries... who says POTUS has a knack for making every big event about himself.
The House Democratic Leader weighed in when Jacob caught up with him on Capitol Hill Monday. Watch the clip ... Jeffries questions Trump's sudden Knicks fandom and explains why he's not exactly thrilled about the prez showing up to Madison Square Garden for Game 3.
Jeffries told us New Yorkers have waited decades to see the Knicks back in the NBA Finals ... and suggested the spotlight should stay on the team instead of the controversy surrounding Trump's visit.
Spike Lee had the legendary West 4th Street courts lookin' like a Knicks block party on Monday ... just hours before tip-off of the most anticipated basketball game in NYC in decades!
The Academy Award winner and NYK superfan pulled up to The Cage in a royal blue and orange wrapped bus, the Fanatics Fan Wagon, around noon -- as scores of fans surrounded the bus to chop it up with Spike, before he heads to the Garden for tonight's game.
Lee and Fanatics hooked fans up with autographed memorabilia, including a signed Karl-Anthony Towns jersey.
President Trump loves a good wall ... so it's only fitting Madison Square Garden set one up outside the venue ahead of POTUS' attendance at Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
The safety barricade was put in place by Monday morning ... one of the many safety measures implemented in preparation for Nos. 45 and 47's appearance at the World's Most Famous Arena for the Knicks vs. Spurs matchup.
The vibes will be quite different from the usual ... as rowdy watch parties will not take place outside the building, which has upset Knicks supporters. There will be an event at Bryant Park for backers to congregate at instead ... a 15-minute walk away from MSG.
Stephen A. Smith is calling foul on President Donald Trump's plans to Game 3 of the NBA Finals tonight at Madison Square Garden ... blasting the visit as a massive headache for New Yorkers and saying POTUS has "no business" showing up.
Roll the tape ... the ESPN personality unloaded during Monday's episode of "First Take." SAS didn't dive into politics or policy, but he made it clear he's not thrilled about POTUS bringing the Secret Service circus to one of the biggest basketball nights of the year.
Smith argued MSG isn't some sprawling football stadium with acres of parking and room to spare ... it's smack in the middle of one of the busiest parts of NYC, where traffic is already a nightmare before adding a presidential motorcade and security detail to the mix.
Five people were slashed in Manhattan's Penn Station during a rampage by an assailant -- and Sunday's bloody attack went down just a stone's throw away from where Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are getting married, according to police.
The violence erupted Sunday night inside the Amtrak terminal, where cops say a person of interest slashed all five victims with a knife for unknown reasons.
Police say a suspect was taken into custody while the victims were rushed to local hospitals for treatment.
King spent eight seasons in the league after being selected sixth overall in the 1989 NBA Draft by the Bulls and quickly became part of one of basketball's greatest dynasties ... helping the Bulls capture three straight NBA championships alongside Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen during the franchise's legendary early-'90s run.
Charles Oakley and James Dolanaren't the only feud in Knicks nation -- the beloved hooper is also beefing with his former teammate, legend Patrick Ewing -- and Oak tells us there's no hope for salvaging the relationship.
"For Patrick not to be man enough to come and talk to me after having his back for 10 years, he's a coward," Oakley told Babcock of his longtime teammate and friend.
We followed up, asking if the relationship could be repaired.
Buffalo Wild Wings' recent social media post is falling flat ... 'cause the restaurant chain just offered the kid who ran onto the court during Game 1 free food for the rest of the NBA Finals -- and a lot of folks think it's weird to "reward" such behavior.
B-Dubs went to X in search of the individual on Thursday ... saying it's trying to track him down so he can tune in to the rest of the Finals "on us" after he was handed a lifetime ban from NBA arenas over the Victor Wembanyama selfie stunt.
We took a peep at the replies ... and the wing joint is getting fried like a chicken.
The Spurs fan who rushed the court for a pic with Victor Wembanyama is not only persona non grata in the NBA's eyes -- he's in trouble with the law, too.
The Bexar County Sheriff's Office tells TMZ Sports the individual -- a juvenile -- was arrested on two charges in connection with Wednesday night's stunt at Game 1 of the Finals at Frost Bank Center ... where he "intentionally breached court security personnel."
Officials say the first charge, Disrupting Meeting or Procession, was committed by "intentionally disrupting a lawful gathering, namely, the Spurs basketball game, through physical interference."
Karl-Anthony Towns' mom wasn't physically in the stands for game 1 of the NBA Finals, but the Knicks star says he felt her presence in a real way ... and it helped KAT lead N.Y. to a huge victory!
"I just felt a calm and a peace that had to be coming from the woman above," Towns told the "Inside the NBA" crew after the thrilling game.
KAT:
"I just felt a calm and a peace that had to be come from the woman above (his mom). I felt like a kid. It was just fun out here. It felt like I was a kid getting ready to go play my Saturday AAU games and Sunday AAU games. In a way I felt like I was seeing her in the… pic.twitter.com/iGj4FwxL8C@ohnohedidnt24
"It felt like I was a kid getting ready to go play my Saturday AAU games and Sunday AAU games. In a way, I felt like I was seeing her in the stands. It was fun. It was really fun, and it was really comforting."
8:50 AM PT -- The fan's stunt resulted in his arrest and a lifetime ban from all NBA arenas, the league announced.
Another fan involved in the incident was also handed a ban for life, the league added.
A fan interrupted Game 1 of the NBA Finals in hopes of getting a selfie with Victor Wembanyama ... with the unwelcome guest rushing the court and approaching the San Antonio Spurs superstar with his phone before getting yanked away by security.
The odd moment went down in the fourth quarter as the Spurs and New York Knicks duked it out ... when a guy wearing a black zipped hoodie, white shirt and black pants sprinted onto the hardwood.
It's clear the 7'4" French center was his target (he kept shouting "Wemby" as he ran) ... but considering the hooper's height, the court stormer never got a clear shot of his face. We take it he has much bigger issues to deal with at the moment than a botched selfie.
Damian Lillard's alleged baby mama isn't the homewrecker she's being made out to be ... 'cause TMZ has learned she and the NBA superstar didn't get romantic until AFTER his marriage was already over.
Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... the 9-time NBA All-Star did NOT cheat on his ex-wife, Kay'la Lillard, with Justie Wolf. We're told the two had known each other for years through mutual friends, but their relationship didn't turn romantic until after Damian and Kay'la had separated.
We're also told Justie isn't the type of woman who would knowingly get involved with a married man or help break up a family ... and she would never be okay being a side chick.
