Sawt Falasteen - Sky-high ticket costs can't cool the cauldron of Madison Square Garden

The New York Knicks, chasing their first basketball championship since 1973, take a 2-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs into Monday's game three of the best-of-seven series, with game four to follow on Wednesday.

Ticket prices have skyrocketed out of the reach of most New Yorkers, but the self-proclaimed "World's Most Famous Arena" will still be packed to the rafters, with celebrities at courtside and Trump attending at least for game three.

The shiny trappings are just part of the allure of the 58-year-old venue.

But on Sunday evening, five people were wounded in a stabbing at Penn Station, located directly underneath the arena -- a reminder of the security concerns that also lurk ahead of major events in New York.

The Garden is one of America's most storied venues -- where the yellow-tinged lighting and vintage photos of Muhammad Ali and the Rolling Stones displayed on the concourses nod to its place in sports and entertainment lore.

"There's nothing like seeing a basketball game at Madison Square Garden," said John Guercio, a 60-something accountant and self-proclaimed lifelong fan of the Knicks.

NBA Hall of Famer Bill Bradley, who won titles with the Knicks in 1970 and 1973, says New York fans are the key to MSG's enduring spirit.

"It's a very loud audience, enthusiastic audience, critical audience, knowledgeable audience," Bradley said. "And when they get into the game they can carry the team."

But, as Bradley knows all too well, the fans can turn against one of their own -- or even against the entire roster.

Thrust into a position that was not his, Bradley had to endure the jeers of frenzied aficionados at the start of his professional career, along with spitting and tossed coins.

He was embraced, he recalled, "as soon as we started winning."

- 'Still awesome' -

"The fans are just brutal here," said Guercio, who remembers a 2000s rough patch marked by six straight seasons without a playoff berth and the "dirt chanting" directed at coach Isiah Thomas.

"You come here, you've got to have tough skin," Guercio said.

"That's why players like playing here, because if you can win here, you can win anywhere."

Today's Knicks have won the hearts of fans with a gritty style that saw them reach the Eastern Conference finals last season and build a 13-game winning streak in the current playoffs.

"They're likable, they're easy to love, they're easy to root for," said superfan Anthony Donahue.

Unlike some of the past Knicks heroes, from Walt Frazier to Charles Oakley to Latrell Sprewell, these Knicks do not boast larger-than-life personalities.

But "they play hard, they never give up," said Donahue.

"I don't think they're out partying. They're not being stupid. They're themselves," he added. "And New York has wrapped our arms around them."

Donahue does not believe that the eye-watering ticket prices have eroded MSG's DNA.

Although it's now hard to find a ticket for less than $7,000 on the resale market for Monday's showdown, he noted that prices are much lower for season ticket holders.

"I've been at every playoff game this year," Donahue said. "The Garden, the crowd's still awesome."

Rich Swann, who has been attending games for more than 30 years, draws a distinction between the regular-season and post-season vibe.

"During the regular season, you've got people who just come into games, it's a thing to do. Tourists come in," Swann said.

"Playoff atmosphere has been different. Playoff atmosphere is real."

V.Said--SF-PST