Madison Square Garden was the site of another iconic moment in its storied history on Wednesday night when the New York Knicks made the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history, beating the San Antonio Spurs after being down 29 points. The Knicks are now up in the series 3-1.
It’s a game that will be studied forever for not just what happened on the court, but all the action around it.
The Garden has always hosted celebrities during Knicks games, but with the team in the Finals for the first time since 1999, it has become the hottest ticket in New York City. To say the stars came out for this game would be an understatement.
Here are the celebrity highlights from the Knicks’ historic Game 4.
Taylor Swift brought the good vibes
Swift has been responsible for helping boost the US economy, the struggling movie theater business, and now, getting the Knicks off the schneid.
The team was on a 13-game win streak going into Monday’s Game 3 of the Finals, which marked the first time a Finals game was played at Madison Square Garden since 1999. The hype was enormous, with nosebleed tickets costing thousands of dollars. Even the president showed up, causing fans to wait hours to get into the game due to heightened security. That night — and some superstitious fans say as a result — the Spurs won their first game in the series.
But then T-Swift entered the Garden for Game 4 on Wednesday.
Walking in alongside friends Alana and Este Haim, their energy could not be ignored. One of the fun parts of watching a basketball game, whether in person or on TV, is that the fans are so close to the court they’re hard to miss. Especially when they’re famous.
So as the Knicks chipped away in the second half at the Spurs’ lead, Swift and the Haims became internet fodder for frantically jumping up in down in their cheeky T-shirts with Knicks puns.
If the Knicks go on to win the championship, there will be many who will suggest Taylor Swift showing up at Game 4 brought the good vibes back to the Garden.
The Wu-Tang Clan’s halftime performance kept hope alive
The NBA Finals have never been known for having marquee halftime shows, because they aren’t televised like the Super Bowl. But Madison Square Garden has gone all out this Finals. For Game 3, Cardi B performed during halftime, and for Game 4, MSG did the impossible, getting the Wu-Tang Clan to perform.
Historically, getting the Wu to come together on anything is as hard as getting the Knicks’ center Karl-Anthony Towns to not get into foul trouble during a game. But members like RZA, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon all showed up and performed their classic songs like “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit,” “C.R.E.A.M.,” and “Method Man.”
At the half, the Spurs were in the lead 76-49 on the Knicks. Wu-Tang could have just come out and gone through the motions, and no one would have blamed them, but that didn’t happen. Method Man even announced at the end of the performance, “Knicks in five.”
At that point, he might have been the only one in the Garden thinking that.
We almost lost Larry David
The Garden was in such hysterics by the end of the game that even Larry David was on his feet, amazed by the Knicks’ improbable comeback run.
But we almost lost the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star during a key moment.
With 1:47 left in the game, Knicks forward Josh Hart picked up a loose ball and had a breakaway for a dunk to give his team its first lead of the game. But instead of dunking it, he tried to float the ball in the hoop and missed the shot.
David, sitting next to tennis legend John McEnroe and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, watched the miss and grabbed onto both men like he was going to collapse right there on the floor.
Thankfully, for David — and Hart — Knicks forward OG Anunoby tipped in a miss from Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson with just over one second left in the game to seal their victory.
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