No bags, no watch parties at Madison Square Garden with Trump attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals

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NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks are warning fans to bring as little as possible to Game 3 of the NBA Finals and encouraging them to arrive at least two hours before tipoff as part of enhanced security measures with President Donald Trump attending the game.

The Knicks said Saturday that a strict no-bag policy would be in place and there would be “TSA-style screening procedures” for fans when they enter Madison Square Garden for the game that is scheduled to begin just after 8:40 p.m. EDT.

Trump is a longtime Knicks fan who confirmed Friday that he would attend the first NBA Finals game in New York since 1999. He already has attended a number of major sporting events in his second term, including the 2025 Super Bowl, Daytona 500 and Ryder Cup.

The Knicks said there would be no storage at MSG for prohibited items brought to the arena. A list of them is available at https://www.secretservice.gov/prohibiteditems.

Trump’s visit also scuttled a Game 3 watch party outside MSG. The New York Police Department said the decision was made in coordination with the Secret Service.

Such parties, where thousands of fans pack in to watch the game on a big screen, have been a point of contention for the city’s police department, even without the complication of a presidential visit.

More than two-dozen people were arrested as Friday’s watch party spilled into the streets surrounding the Garden after the Knicks beat the Spurs in San Antonio. One woman was accused of punching a police officer in the face, the NYPD said.

Heading into the NBA Finals, the city had moved to cancel watch parties outside the arena altogether because of rowdy behavior at unofficial gatherings but later reversed itself and granted a permit for Game 1 last Wednesday.

Team-sanctioned watch parties will go on at Wollman Rink in Central Park and Brooklyn Bowl, the Knicks website said. Both events required advanced registration and were already at capacity as of Sunday afternoon.

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