EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW YORK -- As part of enhanced security measures with President Donald Trump attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday, there will be no watch party outside Madison Square Garden, the New York Police Department said on Sunday.The decision, announced just more than 24 hours before the New York Knicks host the San Antonio Spurs, was made in coordination with the Secret Service, the department said, ending speculation about the popular gatherings.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 defeated the Spurs in San Antonio to take a 2-1 series lead. 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.The Knicks have not been in the Finals since 1999, when they lost to the Spurs, and the franchise last won an NBA title in 1973, when they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers.The Associated Press contributed to this report.
