Russell Wilson, More At Game 2

“Russell Wilson, more at Game 2”

A star-studded crowd flocked to Madison Sq. Backyard on Friday night time in hopes of watching the New York Knicks bounce again in Sport 2 of the Eastern Conference finals after struggling a 138-135 time beyond regulation loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

Sadly, the highly-coveted “celebrity row,” which included the likes of Russell Wilson, Ciara and Timothée Chalamet, noticed New York lose its second straight recreation at residence to drop to 0-2 within the convention finals.

Sport 1 of the Jap Convention finals introduced out quite a lot of celebrities, starting from Knicks legends (Carmelo Anthony, Patrick Ewing and Walt “Clyde” Frazier) to comedians (Tracy Morgan, Dave Chappelle and Larry David), award-winning actors (Jon Hamm, Chalamet and Ben Stiller), Grammy-winning musicians (Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson and Widespread) and world-class athletes (Suni Lee and CC Sabathia).

Who confirmed as much as Madison Sq. Backyard for Sport 2 on Friday? We acquired you coated. USA TODAY Sports activities tracked all the celebrities in attendance:

PACERS VS KNICKS, GAME 2: TV channel, odds, predictions, time and how one can watch

A who’s who of Hollywood has turned out to Madison Sq. Backyard on Friday. Actor Michael J. Fox, comic/actor Jim Gaffigan, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actress Susie Essman, “Miami Vice” actor Don Johnson, “Stranger Things” actor Caleb McLaughlin, “Entourage” actor Jerry Ferrarra, “The Sopranos” star Edie Falco and “Gladiator 2” star Fred Hechinger are a number of the stars within the constructing.

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and his latest quarterback, Russell Wilson, are having fun with the offseason. Daboll and Wilson pulled as much as Madison Sq. Backyard to observe their basketball counterparts in motion. Musician Ciara, the Grammy-nominated spouse of Wilson, was additionally readily available. The ability couple matched in denim.

“Wonka” star Timothée Chalamet has the golden ticket — a entrance row seat for Sport 2. Chalamet, a well-recognized face at Madison Sq. Backyard, typically joins the jubilant crowd and Friday was no completely different. He was seated subsequent to fellow superfan Ben Stiller. Chalamet’s fervent assist for the Knicks, as reported by the New York Times, started throughout his highschool days at LaGuardia Excessive Faculty in Manhattan, when he was a budding actor striving to carve his area of interest. Chalamet’s girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, was not in attendance. The pair had a date night time at Sport 4 of the Knicks-Celtics Jap Convention semifinals earlier this month. — Elizabeth Flores

“Mad Men” actor Jon Hamm is within the constructing and he is on his greatest habits. When you keep in mind, Hamm made a mad man out of Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton throughout Sport 1 after the actor snagged a free ball on the sidelines that Haliburton believed he might’ve saved inbounds. Haliburton complained about interference by Hamm, however nothing got here of it.

A pair of broadcasting legends are within the crowd. Corridor of Fame broadcaster Marv Albert, who was often called the “voice of the New York Knicks” from 1967 to 2004, was readily available to observe the workforce up shut and private. Longtime NBC Sports activities broadcaster Bob Costas can also be within the constructing.

Busta Rhymes is again for Sport 2. The rapper was entrance and heart subsequent to British rapper Skepta. And though the Knicks dropped Sport 1 in devastating style, Rhymes is not feeling down. He dropped a brand new music, “New York Knicks Anthem,” within the midst of Sport 2 to rally the fanbase. He carried out the music throughout halftime in a customized Knicks leather-based jacket. He rapped: “I’m for my New York Knicks. Gotta rep the town for my New York Knicks.”

If you’d told me going into the Knicks Celtics series that I’d be watching Busta Rhymes with my 73 year-old dad in late May I’d have had so many questions pic.twitter.com/VT3I09HP4z

— Knicks Memes (@KnicksMemes) May 24, 2025

The champ is right here. Walt “Clyde” Frazier led the Knicks to two titles in 1970 and 1973, which remain the franchise’s only NBA championships to date. He’s not the only Knick alum to return home for Game 2. Hubert Davis, the current head coach of the North Carolina men’s basketball team, played for the Knicks from 1992-1996 after being drafted by New York with the 20th overall pick in 1992.

Bernard King (1982–1987), Larry Johnson (1996–2001), Latrell Sprewell (1999–2003), John Starks (1990–1998), Stephon Marbury (2004–2009), Tim Thomas (2004–2005, 2008–2009), Wilson Chandler (2007–2011) and J. R. Smith (2012–2015) are also in the house.

Maggie Rogers is a good distance from “Alaska.” The Grammy-nominated musician was in attendance for Game 2. The Maryland native has ties to the city. She attended New York University, where returned to serve as a commencement speaker earlier this month. Musicians Questlove and Jelly Roll are also on hand.

Comedian Jerry O’Connell says Game 2 is a “MUST WIN” for the Knicks. He posted a courtside selfie featuring fellow actor Justin Long. The New York native used city lingo to caption the photo: “BING BONG.”

If you want to see your favorite basketball team play up close and personal, it’s going to cost you. There are a number of factors that affect ticket prices, including the level of play, teams competing and location.

Let’s start with level of play – sitting courtside at a playoff game is going to be more expensive than a regular season game and attending the conference finals is more expensive than a first-round playoff game. The matchup also matters. Games in arenas in big cities, like Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena and New York’s Madison Square Garden, attract more attendees and tend to inflate the price. Full story here.

Yes and no.

There are a variety of ways A-listers can snag courtside seats and some methods don’t include opening their wallets. TicketSmarter CEO Jeff Goodman told USA TODAY Sports that celebrities can leverage their connections to get tickets through team owners. Sometimes they are invited by ownership groups or league sponsors, but most times, stars pay their way.

“Simply because they’re celebrities doesn’t imply they’re getting free tickets,” Goodman said. “In lots of instances, they’re paying identical to everyone else in the event that they don’t know somebody with the workforce or with the possession group.” Full story on how stars get courtside seats and how much NBA courtside seats cost here.

Knicks fans are hoping Friday is not Groundhog Day following the team’s Game 1 overtime loss Wednesday. Speaking of “Groundhog Day,” actor Bill Murray is in attendance at Madison Square Garden. The actor is a major Chicago Cubs fan, but we’re guessing Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals was too sweet to pass up. He attended the contest with son Luke Murray, who is an assistant coach for the UConn men’s basketball team.

It’s no “Night at the Museum” for actor Ben Stiller. Instead, the diehard Knicks fan is enjoying a night at Madison Square Garden, where he’s become a mainstay on “Celeb Row.” Stiller appeared to be pumped for the game. Earlier Friday, he sent three separate tweets that read, “LETTTTTTSSSSSS GOOOOOOOOOOOO KNIIIICCCCCKKKKSSSSSSS.” One other staple, Tracy Morgan, was additionally entrance and heart for Sport 2.

Stream Knicks vs. Pacers Game 2 on Sling

And if you’re wondering, basketball players get starstruck too. Ahead of Game 1, TNT commentator Kenny Smith noted that players feel the pressure of competing in front of celebrities, especially in New York and Los Angeles.

“You can’t look to the left. You can’t look to the best. You need to keep centered in, as a result of there’s Spike Lee, Ben Stiller, all of the well-known rappers that you just’ve ever needed to speak to. They’re right here,” Smith said on the “Contained in the NBA” pre-game show Wednesday. “While you’re within the Jap Convention finals, you need to knock that out and never take note of any of that.”

Seven-time major winning tennis star John McEnroe stopped by TNT’s “Inside the NBA” pregame show to promote the upcoming French Open, which will broadcast on TNT for the first time, starting Sunday. McEnroe never won the French Open, but finished as a runner-up to Ivan Lendl in 1984. He predicted Ben Shelton and Francis Tiafoe are the Americans with the best shot at winning at Roland Garros.

Like Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith, McEnroe turned to broadcasting after his career.

“I didn’t know that I was going to be great (on television). In fact, it was the last thing I wanted to do. At the end of my career, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to be a commentator. That’s really pathetic.’ I got an opportunity and got some good advice: ‘be yourself.’”

Draymond Inexperienced requested McEnroe for recommendation on how one can management his feelings. McEnroe jokingly replied, “The last person you want to talk to is me. It’s hopeless for either one of us.”

Madison Sq. Backyard’s coveted Celeb Row would usually go away anybody starstruck, providing up loads of A-list sightings from Spike Lee to Ben Stiller and Timothee Chalamet. However New York Knicks celebrity Jalen Brunson has solely been left awestruck by one celeb. That particular person is (don-don) Mariska Hargitay, longtime star of the hit TV present “Law & Order: SVU.”

“I’ve never been like super, super starstruck. I saw her and I was like, ‘Oh, (wow),’” Brunson said during a May 4 episode of his “The Roommates Show” podcast, which he hosts alongside teammate Josh Hart. “Then, the first time we met, it was awesome, we talked and everything.”

A friendship between Brunson and Hargitay has been brewing since he donned royal blue and orange. Why is Hargitay Brunson’s favourite? Click on right here to see what’s behind the Brunson-Hargitay connection.