Events don’t get much hotter than Game 3 at Madison Square Garden.
About three hours before tipoff between the Knicks and the Boston Celtics on Saturday afternoon, a ticket could not be found on any of the major resale websites for less than $600.
The cost of a standing room only pass on StubHub was $684 — and that was before fees. Actual seats started at $713.
It wasn’t much cheaper on Vivid Seats, where a spot in the 400 level cost $607, or on SeatGeek, where entry started at $635.
Indeed, the prices remained sky-high after TickPick said on Wednesday night that the get-in price for Game 3 was $704 — the most-expensive Knicks game on record for a website that launched in 2011.
“My good friends know not to ask,” Knicks star Jalen Brunson said of help getting tickets.
Gametime, meanwhile, said earlier in the week that courtside tickets cost as much as $42,294 each — exceeding top-priced seats at this year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans, which went for $17,787.
Fueling the incredible demand were the Knicks’ instant-classic victories in Games 1 and 2 at TD Garden in Boston, putting them up 2-0 over the heavily favored Celtics in the best-of-seven second-round playoff series.
The Knicks erased 20-point deficits in the second halves of both games.
Karl-Anthony Towns could only laugh when asked if people had asked him for help getting tickets.
“That’s a great question,” the All-Star center said coyly.
Back in the second round for a third consecutive season, the Knicks seek to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.
They entered Saturday a perfect 5-0 in road games this postseason but went just 1-2 at the Garden in their first-round series against the Detroit Pistons.
“We have great fans, and we certainly appreciate the fans, the arena and all that,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “But what we have to understand is what goes into winning Game 3. You have to earn it. It’s not given to you. There’s no guarantees because you’re up in a series. There’s no guarantees because you’re at home.”
Tickets for Monday night’s Game 4 at the Garden, meanwhile, started at $770 on StubHub and $666 on SeatGeek as of Saturday afternoon.
