Overview
- Jose Alvarado dove for a loose ball in the fourth quarter of Game 3 at Madison Square Garden and landed on former mayor Michael Bloomberg before returning to play.
- Alvarado appeared to check on Bloomberg at courtside and Bloomberg later told him it was “great to meet” him, a moment captured and widely circulated in postgame coverage.
- San Antonio beat New York 115-111 in Game 3, ending the Knicks’ 13-game playoff winning streak and cutting New York’s series lead to 2-1.
- Alvarado is a Queens native who joined the Knicks in a February trade from the New Orleans Pelicans and has become a noted role player during New York’s playoff run.
- Celebrity attendance, including Bloomberg and President Donald Trump, amplified media interest in the sideline incident and set the stage for heightened attention ahead of Game 4 at Madison Square Garden.