<p>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.</p><p>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 3</p><p>The shiny trappings are just part of the allure of the 58-year-old venue.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p><strong>"There's nothing like seeing a basketball game at Madison Square Garden,"</strong> said John Guercio, a 60-something accountant and self-proclaimed lifelong fan of the Knicks.</p><p>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.</p><p><strong>"It's a very loud audience, enthusiastic audience, critical audience, knowledgeable audience," </strong>Bradley said.<strong> "And when they get into the game, they can carry the team."</strong></p><p>But, as Bradley knows all too well, the fans can turn against one of their own - or even against the entire roster.</p><p>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.</p><p>He was embraced, he recalled, <strong>"as soon as we started winning."</strong></p><p><strong>"The fans are just brutal here," </strong>said Guercio, who remembers a 2000s rough patch marked by six straight seasons without a playoff berth and the<strong> "dirt chanting" </strong>directed at coach Isiah Thomas.</p><p><strong>"You come here, you've got to have tough skin,"</strong> Guercio said. <strong>"That's why players like playing here, because if you can win here, you can win anywhere."</strong></p><p>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.</p><p><strong>"They're likable, they're easy to love, they're easy to root for," </strong>said superfan Anthony Donahue.</p><p>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.</p><p>But <strong>"they play hard, they never give up,"</strong> said Donahue.</p><p><strong>"I don't think they're out partying. They're not being stupid. They're themselves," </strong>he added. <strong>"And New York has wrapped our arms around them."</strong></p><p>Donahue does not believe that the eye-watering ticket prices have eroded MSG's DNA.</p><p>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.</p><p><strong>"I've been to every playoff game this year,"</strong> Donahue said.<strong> "The Garden, the crowd's still awesome."</strong></p><p>Rich Swann, who has been attending games for more than 30 years, distinguishes the regular-season and postseason vibe.</p><p><strong>"During the regular season, you've got people who just come into games, it's a thing to do. Tourists come in,"</strong> Swann said.</p><p><strong>"Playoff atmosphere has been different. Playoff atmosphere is real."</strong></p>