NEW YORK (AP) — Knicks fever has set the stage for Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs to be a must-see event — inside Madison Square Garden and out on the streets and in bars across New York City.
With the Knicks in the finals for the first time since 1999 and leading the series 2-0, their first home game this round is a hot ticket. The get-in price exceeds the average cost of rent in the biggest U.S. city.
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The San Antonio Spurs practice prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the New York Knicks, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The New York Knicks practice prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown watches practice prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) defends against New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the first half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Friday, June 5, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
As of Sunday evening, the cheapest upper-deck seats available were going for over $6,000 on secondary markets like StubHub, SeatGeek and VividSeats. The experience of being courtside goes for more than $75,000.
“I don’t care who you are, that’s a lot of money for a ticket,” said guard Jose Alvarado, a New York native who was planning a viewing party in Brooklyn and pointed out his Queens high school also is hosting one. “People that could afford it, we’re grateful with them coming out, and it just shows you our team is really special and we’re doing something here that hasn’t been done in a long time.”
The Knicks are two victories away from their first championship since 1973, and the hoopla for Game 3 includes the anticipated appearances of President Donald Trump and Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Trump's presence canceled a planned watch party outside the arena, where fans have gathered throughout this run that has included a 13-game winning streak.
“Hope has been brought back to the city,” center Karl-Anthony Towns said. Teammate Josh Hart expects “it's going to be rocking” but lamented the high cost just to get into the Garden.
“I kind of wish the ticket prices weren’t as crazy as they are,” Hart said. “I feel like a lot of people who have been waiting for this moment for a very long time unfortunately aren’t able to get into the building.”
No NBA team has gone up 2-0 in the finals on the road and not won the series. The possibility of a sweep drove ticket prices up to over $10,000 apiece, and an if-necessary Game 6 is around the same cost.
Under 20,000 people will get the opportunity to attend each night. Alvarado knows far more will be watching on television all over.
“The people that can’t afford it, we improvise,” he said. "We’re New Yorkers. We’re going to find a way to watch a game, and that’s what we’re doing.”
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The San Antonio Spurs practice prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the New York Knicks, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The New York Knicks practice prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown watches practice prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) defends against New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the first half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Friday, June 5, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat of a tsunami had largely passed about five hours after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in the southern Philippines sent waves onshore in the region Monday morning.
Waves of 1-meter (3-feet) were monitored in the Philippine provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani by land-based tsunami watch stations, Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told The Associated Press.
Smaller waves were recorded in Indonesia and Malaysia. After the PTWC said the threat had largely passed, it still urged people to stay alert and to heed warnings from local authorities as sea levels may fluctuate for a few more hours.
The quake damaged buildings and infrastructure in the southern Philippines, causing at least four deaths and more than 200 injuries. The impact of the tsunami was not immediately clear.
“It’s a major earthquake and we’re expecting damages and we’ve already some damaged buildings based on videos we’ve seen,” Teresito Bacolcol told AP.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — An offshore magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked the southern Philippines early Monday, damaging buildings and a key access bridge in a large southern city and setting off a 1-meter (3-foot) tsunami that washed ashore on nearby coasts. At least four people were killed and more than 200 others injured, officials said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged people to immediately go to higher ground in Philippine areas vulnerable to a tsunami, and Indonesian and Malaysian authorities also issued warnings to their nearby coastal areas.
The strongest quake to strike the Philippines this year was centered at sea about 13 kilometers (8 miles) southwest of General Santos, a city of more than 700,000 people that is a hub for tuna processing and other commerce in the southern Mindanao region of the archipelago nation.
The Philippine leader said disaster-response agencies were on standby to respond. “The national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind,” Marcos said.
Numerous aftershocks followed the 7:37 a.m. Monday quake, which was felt in nearby Malaysia. Tsunami waves were also detected in Indonesia and Malaysia.
At least three people were killed and 130 others were injured in General Santos, where at least a few small buildings partially collapsed and several structures, including a key access bridge, sustained dangerous cracks, Rod Sosmeña, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, told The Associated Press.
The Department of Health said another person died in Davao Oriental province due to the quake.
There were no immediate reports of people being trapped in partially collapsed structures in General Santos due to the quake, said Sosmeña, who was being driven to work when the ground violently shook.
“Our pickup truck suddenly jerked and I thought we had a flat tire,” Sosmeña the AP by telephone from General Santos. “People dashed out of houses into the streets.”
The international airport in General Santos was temporarily shut due to the earthquake and 17 domestic flights were canceled, civil aviation officials said.
Ednar Dayanghirang, director of the Office of Civil Defense in a nearby southern region, said more than 100 students attending morning flag-raising ceremonies sustained bruises and some fainted in panic at different grade and high schools.
“I myself could hardly stand and keep my balance when the ground shook as I was leaving my house,” Dayanghirang told the AP by telephone from southern Davao, a major port city in the soutehrn Philippines.
DZRH radio station in Manila reported that a small commercial building housing its provincial branch partly collapsed and staffers dashed to the ground floor without injuries. It wasn’t clear if other people were trapped in the rubble of the four-story office building. Debris also fell from other buildings, hitting tricycle taxis parked below.
The quake was caused by movement in the Cotabato Trench at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
“It's a major earthquake and we're expecting damages and we've already some damaged buildings based on videos we've seen,” institute director Teresito Bacolcol told AP.
Waves of 1-meter (3-feet) were monitored in the Philippine provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani by land-based tsunami watch stations, Bacolcol said. Smaller waves were monitored in at least one other province, he said.
“Please heed the tsunami warning. Move to higher ground now. Do not wait. Your life is more important than anything left behind,” Marcos told people in quake-hit provinces.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves up to 3 meters (10 feet) were possible on some coasts of the Philippines. Waves up to 1 meter (3 feet) were possible on some coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia.
Malaysia’s Meteorological Department issued a tsunami warning for Sabah state on Borneo island. Sabah is just a boat ride away from southern Philippines. An 83-centimeter (2.7-feet) tsunami was measured by a gauge off Indonesia's Sulawesi island.
Smaller sea changes were possible in Japan, Papua New Guinea and several island nations and territories in the western Pacific. An advisory for Guam was lifted about two hours after the quake and there was no threat to Hawaii, the PTWC said.
Aftershocks up to 6.5 magnitude were measured by the U.S. Geological Survey. It reported the depth of the original quake at 55 kilometers (34 miles). Variations in measurements by different agencies are common in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake.
The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year.
Associated Press journalists Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.
A building is damaged after an earthquake in General Santos, Philippines, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
A building is damaged after an earthquake in General Santos, Philippines, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Debris lies on a road after an earthquake in General Santos, Philippines, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
A building is damaged after an earthquake in General Santos, Philippines, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Residents pass by a collapsed structure after an earthquake in General Santos, Philippines on Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
This photo provided by Philippine Coast Guard, shows a Coast Guard member joins operations at a collapsed building following an earthquake in General Santos, Philippines, Monday, June 8, 2026. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
A policeman looks at an abandoned building that collapsed after an earthquake struck in Matanao, Davao del Sur province, Philippines on Monday June 8, 2026.(AP Photo/Nycel Basillote)
Residents takes a picture of a collapsed structure following an earthrquake, in General Santos, Philippines on Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Residents pass by a collapsed structure after an earthquake in General Santos, Philippines on Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
An official of the Japan Meteorological Agency speaks near a monitor showing a tsunami advisory during a news conference at the agency in Tokyo, Monday, June 8, 2026, following a powerful earthquake in Philippines. (Miyuki Saito/Kyodo News via AP)
This image from a video shows dust and debris outside a building after a powerful earthquake in General Santos city on the island of Mindanao, Philippines Monday, June 8, 2026. (Ernesto Torres Jr via AP)
This image from a video shows people gathered outside a damaged building after a powerful earthquake in General Santos city on the island of Mindanao, Philippines Monday, June 8, 2026. (Ernesto Torres Jr via AP)
This shows vehicles damaged by debris after powerful earthquake in the Mindanao region, Philippines Monday, June 8, 2026. (Ernesto Torres Jr via AP)
This image from a video shows dust and debris outside a building after a powerful earthquake in General Santos city on the island of Mindanao, Philippines Monday, June 8, 2026. (Ernesto Torres Jr via AP)
