Tag: Madison Square Garden

Why is Trae Young so hated by Knicks fans at Madison Square Garden?

What is it about Trae Young that New Yorkers despise so much?

One of the greatest rivalries in basketball over the past few years is between the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young.

If you are wondering how this all started, it all began during the 2021 NBA postseason. It was the first time that Young made the playoffs during his pro career and the first game of the series was at Madison Square Garden.

Young played extraordinarily well, scoring 32 points and recording 10 assists. At one point late during the game, Young took a bow after a go-ahead basket. He also silenced the crowd, gesturing his finger toward his mouth.

The Hawks went on to win the series as the guard averaged 29.2 points per game during the elimination.

Ever since that incident, though, the crowd has not exactly given him the warmest reception in New York. In fact, even during games not against the Hawks, crowds have still chanted all sorts of crazy things at Young in viral videos.

While he missed the next game Atlanta played at Madison Square Garden, his return to New York resulted in 45 points. He said it wasn’t even that loud at the arena.

The following match, Young then appeared wearing shoes that said “King of Broadway” but lost the game. This only added more fuel to the fire for fans.

New York and Atlanta will have another chance to ignite the rivalry when the Knicks and Hawks play in the NBA Cup on Wednesday night.

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Duke basketball will play the Kansas Jayhawks at Madison Square Garden next season

The State Farm Champions Classic announced on Tuesday that the Duke Blue Devils will play Kansas at Madison Square Garden next November.

The Duke Blue Devils will play in Madison Square Garden twice during the 2025 calendar year.

The State Farm Champions Classic revealed its 2025-26 teams and schedule on Tuesday, including a game between Duke and the Kansas Jayhawks at the iconic New York venue on November 18.

The Blue Devils have played Kansas six times since current head coach Bill Self took over, and he’s gotten the better of Duke over his tenure. The Jayhawks have won four of those games, but the Blue Devils beat Kansas the last time the two met in Madison Square Garden back in 2019. Tre Jones finished with 15 points, seven assists, and six rebounds in the 68-66 victory.

The Jayhawks beat Duke 69-64 when they played in November 2022, the first and only time they’ve met in the Jon Scheyer era.

The Blue Devils will also play a rare February non-conference game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at the Garden this season.

The Kentucky Wildcats and Michigan State Spartans will play each other as the other half of the Champions Classic doubleheader.

Duke officially announces February matchup with Illinois at Madison Square Garden

The Duke basketball team confirmed its February battle against Illinois on Wednesday, set within the most famous arena in the sport.

The Duke Blue Devils are headed back to the Big Apple.

The school announced on Wednesday that it had officially scheduled a February game against Illinois set for Madison Square Garden, the most iconic venue in the sport.

The game, scheduled for February 22, will be part of the SentinelOne Classic.

Blue Devils fans shouldn’t be surprised by the announcement. Reports surfaced as early as May that the two schools were working out an agreement to play in 2024-25, and Illinois coach Brad Underwood said that same month that they had their eyes on February for an official date.

The Fighting Illini matched Duke’s run to the Elite Eight last season, finishing with a 29-9 record and ending up No. 7 in the final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

Duke has played in the famous New York arena 59 previous times, and the late-season duel will be the 11th time the Blue Devils make it to Madison Square Garden in 12 seasons.

The Fighting Illini join a gauntlet of non-conference opponents for the Blue Devils in 2024-25 as Jon Scheyer leads his team against Kentucky, Kansas, Auburn, and Arizona.

Duke returns to Madison Square Garden in February to face Illinois

Duke and Illinois set matchup at Madison Square Garden in February of 2025.

Duke ensured the program’s 60th all time game at the infamous Madison Square Garden would be a big one. The Blue Devils are taking on Big Ten foe Illinois at MSG on Saturday, February 22, 2025 in an epic non conference battle.

This matchup will be broadcast on FOX and features a pair of teams that went to the Elite Eight last season. Duke has now played at least one game at MSG in 11 of the past 12 seasons and 21 of the past 23. The Blue Devils are a whopping 41-18 all time at Madison Square Garden, and coach Jon Scheyer is 21-5 in his time as a player, assistant coach, and head coach.

Illinois won the Big Ten for the third time in the past four years last year, while reaching the Elite Eight and finishing sixth in the AP Poll.

For Duke this represents another excellent non conference matchup. The Blue Devils are already playing Auburn, Kentucky, Kansas, and Arizona as they load up the schedule to prepare a young roster – led by incoming freshman phenom Cooper Flagg – to win the ACC and make another deep run in March.

Illinois head coach says Duke will battle Illini at Madison Square Garden in February

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood revealed at the NBA Draft Combine on Tuesday that Duke and Illinois plan to battle in New York next February.

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood spoke with basketball reporter Andy Katz at the NBA Draft Combine on Tuesday, and he provided an update on the Illini’s ongoing work to schedule a 2024-25 game with Duke.

According to Underwood, the game hasn’t been finalized yet, but the two teams are aiming for an unconventional time frame. The Blue Devils might face Illinois deep into their conference schedule.

“We’re working on a game, it’s not finalized, with Duke in the Garden at a unique time,” Underwood said. “We’re going to do it in February.”

Last season, Duke’s last non-conference game was played on December 30. The Blue Devils last played a Power 6 school from outside the ACC on December 20 when they played Baylor, their most recent game at Madison Square Garden.

Duke has played 13 games over the last 10 years at Madison Square Garden, winning 10 of them. They took down a ranked Bears team 78-70 last year after a game-high 21 points from Jared McCain.

The Blue Devils also have an unscheduled Las Vegas battle with Kansas in the works.

Josh Hart had a hysterically NSFW message for Reggie Miller after taunts from Knicks fans

That was cold, Madison Square Garden.

New York Knicks fans have a deep rivalry with former Indiana Pacers great Reggie Miller from the 1990s NBA playoffs, and they let the current broadcaster know it on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

As the Knicks and Pacers faced off in the second round of the 2024 Eastern Conference playoffs, the New York crowd noticed that Miller was in attendance and responded accordingly with a very NSFW chant.

Knicks forward Josh Hart actually went over to the broadcast mic and shared in a very funny (also NSFW) exchange with Miller about the New York chants.

We’re sure the television censors really appreciated this, but it was delightful all the same.

Some NSFW language to follow:Ā 

Hey, if you get the entire crowd at MSG to chant at you like that, it’s clear that you found some success there in the past to endear such hating.

We’re sure Miller got a kick out of this, and Hart’s response to it all was just golden. The Knicks getting the win and the 2-0 series lead didn’t hurt for New York fans, either.

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Duke and Illinois could play at Madison Square Garden next season

Per a Tuesday report from Jon Rothstein, the Blue Devils could end up battling Illinois at Madison Square Garden next season.

According to a Tuesday report from national basketball insider Jon Rothstein, the Blue Devils are finalizing an agreement with Illinois to play at Madison Square Garden during the 2024-25 season.

Rothstein’s report said that neither a timetable for the agreement nor a specific day for the game has been specified.

Last season, the Fighting Illini finished with a 29-9 record before being assigned as the No. 3 seed in the East region. Illinois made it all the way to the Elite Eight before losing to Connecticut, the eventual national champion.

Head coach Brad Underwood’s team finished as a top-10 team in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin.

The two schools haven’t faced off since December 2020, when Illinois took down the Blue Devils 83-68 thanks to 18 points from Ayo Dosunmu. Duke’s Matthew Hurt finished with a game-high 19 points.

The report comes weeks after a similar report that the Blue Devils would battle Kansas next season on a neutral court in Las Vegas.

Highlights: Warriors’ Steph Curry torches Knicks with eight 3-pointers on way to 31-point effort

Steph Curry caught fire early at Madison Square Garden with eight made triples on the way to 31 points on Thursday.

With a fiery 54-point effort and a historic record-breaking night already on his Madison Square Garden resume, Steph Curry recorded another memorable performance in the world’s most famous sports arena on Thursday night against the New York Knicks.

Curry caught fire early, scoring 11 points with a trio of made 3-pointers in the first quarter. Curry went on to drill eight 3-pointers against the Knicks for a game-high 31 points on 11-of-26 shooting from the field in 31 minutes.

The All-Star point guard stuffed the box score with 11 rebounds for a double-double performance to go along with an assist and a steal.

Via @NBCSWarriors on X:

Watch highlights from Curry’s full performance against the Knicks via YouTube:

During his career, Curry is averaging 26 points per game at Madison Square Garden.

This post originally appeared onĀ Warriors Wire! Follow us onĀ FacebookĀ andĀ X!Ā 

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Jalen Brunson held back tears as Knicks fans chanted ‘MVP’ after his first All-Star nod

This video will give you goosebumps.

New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson was named an NBA All-Star for the first time in his career and it was a well-earned honor.

Brunson, who just narrowly missed a spot in the starting lineup for the Eastern Conference, made the team as a reserve. The guard is having an outstanding campaign for New York and he is currently leading them to one of the best records in the East.

After learning he was an All-Star, the two-time NCAA national champion scored 40 points en route to a victory against the Pacers. During his walk-off interview at Madison Square Garden, the 27-year-old guard was emotional.

Alan Hahn spoke to Brunson following the performance and it was hard for the former Villanova star to find the right words.

Brunson described the evening as “fun” as he looked into the crowd at the world-famous arena.

He was asked about the “MVP” chants coming from the fanbase and once again, Brunson was nearly speechless. He said he had nothing to say as the experience seemed to overwhelm him.

No matter how closely you follow sports, these are the kinds of surreal moments that give you goosebumps.

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The Knicks axed Mark Jackson’s reported broadcast job with the team because of an old beef he has with a coach

A rift between Mark Jackson and one of his old coaches got in the way of a job with the Knicks

Somehow, some way, the Knicks will always find a way to bring a tiny bit of chaos to the table. It never fails.

Today’s bit comes from Mark Jackson, who was set to occasionally fill in as the color commentator for Clyde Frazier on the Knicks’ MSG Network broadcast this season after being laid off by ESPN.

Apparently, that’s not happening. Not according to the latest fromĀ theĀ New York Post’sĀ Andrew Marchand.Ā 

Jackson was set to begin calling games with the Knicks on an upcoming road trip but the team put a stop to it. You’ll absolutely never guess the reason why.