I expect us to win the next three. We're taking it game by game, quarter by quarter, trying to walk this thing down.
Those first two games really hurt.
I feel like it was an eye-opener for us; we don't want it to be that way," Castle said.
Presidential Visit and Security Disputes
The high-profile basketball game was attended by President Donald Trump. It marked the first time a sitting U.
S. president attended an NBA Finals game, resulting in significant security delays stretching two blocks outside the arena.
Comedians Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel later mocked Trump on their respective late-night programs.
They joked about him falling asleep during the broadcast and receiving loud boos when displayed on the stadium Jumbotron.
Trump dismissed the negative reception during his post-game remarks. "It was, I think, mostly cheers.
It was loud, and it was very enthusiastic," Trump said.
The intense security presence for the presidential visit caused the NYPD to cancel a public watch party outside Madison Square Garden.
This sparked a public dispute between team owner James Dolan and Mayor Mamdani regarding subsequent permits for Game 4.
Dolan expressed his frustration during a rare radio interview on Wednesday. He accused city officials of intentionally restricting local fan celebrations.
"He gave us the gift of allowing us to screen 999 people and tell 20,000 no… Our hope was that the mayor and the commissioner would change their minds and then we'd put the screens up," Dolan told WFAN.
