It's time for Knicks fans to get past the anxiety of Game 3 and move on

The air was thick with worry on Monday in New York City. I know because I was in touch with fellow Knicks fans ahead of Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals. All of us were petrified.

There was the pressure of the first Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999. The sky-high prices for a seat at The World’s Most Famous Arena (TM) that meant only certain fans could go. The presence of a president known for his ever-growing sports curse.

You know what happened. The Knicks’ 13-game playoff win streak came to an end in a physical battle that saw New York’s offense go ice cold, Victor Wembanyama gain confidence and the “KNICKS IN FOUR!” vibes destroyed.

I wasn’t at MSG on Monday, but you could hear it and feel it on TV. The weight of all that history was too much to overcome. The anxiety was there in the third and fourth quarters, the “oh no, here we go again” feeling that crept up and engulfed die-hards.

This is both me talking to myself and to Knicks fans: It can’t happen again. Yes, MSG is hallowed ground to opponents who love to stomp on die-hard’s hearts — just ask Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or Reggie Miller, all of whom silenced New Yorkers with back-breaking performances.

But that’s all in the past. What’s in the present is the Knicks having their best shot at a title, maybe for a while. The attitude can’t be about blowing a 2-0 lead won on the road. It needs to be about rallying when Jalen Brunson misses one of his patented floaters, or when a Landry Shamet three fails to fall, or a foul called against Karl-Anthony Towns seems questionable.

The Knicks need one of those “everyone on your feet with multiple fans waving their arms to get up” moments in the second half, even if the Spurs lead is double-digits. We’ve seen comebacks before in this very postseason.

What’s here and now is a team built to weather a game like Monday’s, one that hasn’t blinked under the bright lights of Broadway. History is history.