Madison Square Garden is poised for one of its most electric, and expensive, events in years with the Knicks’ playoff matchup Saturday against the Celtics.

The Knicks will host the Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals after claiming the first two games in the series in Boston. The victories have pushed the defending league champion Celtics, owners of one of the priciest rosters in NBA history, to the brink of elimination. New York’s wins also involved comebacks from 20-point deficits in both games. 

That drama, along with the existing New York–Boston sports rivalry spanning multiple leagues and the Knicks seeking their first trip to the NBA conference finals in 25 years, has created a surge in ticket demand for Saturday.

Across several ticket-resale marketplaces, get-in prices for Game 3 are hovering around $700, before fees, while lower-level tickets in many instances are surpassing $2,000 each—a sum not dissimilar to the final pricing for Super Bowl LIX in February. The get-in figure is also more than double the $300 low-end cost for the initial second-round Knicks playoff home game against the Pacers last year. 

Monday’s Game 4 and a May 16 Game 6, if it happens, have a similar dynamic, with get-in prices starting at around $600. All of these figures have risen by about half just since the start of the Knicks-Celtics series three days ago.

On top of the gaudy numbers, the venue known as “the World’s Most Famous Arena” should feature a particularly lively atmosphere and numerous celebrities for Game 3. Even before the Knicks came back home, a large and festive crowd gathered outside MSG to watch Game 2 on a large outdoor screen. 

Dolan’s Empire

The Knicks’ ongoing run, meanwhile, will undoubtedly be a financial boon for Madison Square Garden Sports, one of a trio of related companies controlled by James Dolan and also involving the NHL’s Rangers. During the company’s most recent quarter, both revenue and operating income fell due to a series of issues, including NBA revenue-sharing obligations. Despite that, Dolan said “we remain as confident as ever in the value of owning marquee professional sports franchises.”

The additional dates and gate revenue will also help counter big cuts in local media-rights fees for the Knicks and Rangers following a debt restructuring for sister entity MSG Networks. 

A similarly festive playoff dynamic emerged last year at MSG, but the Knicks fell in seven games to the Pacers, and the Rangers were eliminated in the NHL Eastern Conference finals.

A run of favored teams dominating top-tier sporting events is causing further turbulence in the U.S. sports betting market, with even more expected.

Flutter Entertainment, parent company of U.S. market leader FanDuel, said in its first-quarter earnings report that “adverse sports results,” particularly the recent March Madness dominated by favorites, cut into its revenue during the period. The company’s $3.7 billion in quarterly revenue and $335 million in net income, while solidly up over the comparable period in 2024, missed analyst expectations. 

Additionally, Flutter has lowered its full-year guidance for the U.S. market, and now expects to deliver $7.4 billion in revenue and $1.13 billion in adjusted earnings for 2025. Those figures are down from prior targets of $7.72 billion in revenue and $1.4 billion in adjusted earnings, but will still represent significant year-over-year growth.

Both FanDuel and top rival DraftKings made similar comments regarding 2024’s fourth quarter, blaming “the most customer-friendly NFL results in 20 years” for “significant adverse impacts” to revenue during the critical fall period. DraftKings will release its first-quarter earnings report after the close of Thursday trading and discuss the results with analysts the next morning.

As sports betting continues to develop in the U.S., such a situation remains a growing concern as additional analytics available to both pro teams and bettors have made some on-field outcomes more readily predictable, and could also play out in Major League Baseball this year. Flutter, however, remains confident that its overall market status will withstand that.

“The nature of sports results will influence our quarterly results as we have seen in the NFL in Q4 and March Madness in Q1,” said Flutter CEO Peter Jackson in an earnings call with analysts. “But over time, these variations are transient and we do not compromise our compelling growth model, a long-term value creation opportunity. In fact, it’s these ups and downs in sports results that makes sports exciting and drives engagement.”

Penn Status

Elsewhere in sports betting, ESPN Bet operating partner Penn Entertainment said Thursday that it posted a 4% increase in first-quarter earnings to $1.67 billion and reversed a prior $114.9 million loss to a $111.5 million gain. The results represented a critical sign of life after a more challenged report for 2024’s fourth quarter, one in which Penn Entertainment president and CEO Jay Snowden mused about potentially ending the $2 billion sports betting partnership with ESPN early. 

ESPN Bet remains well behind U.S. sports betting market leaders FanDuel and DraftKings in most states. Penn Entertainment is also facing a lawsuit from activist investors seeking a board seat, an action that calls the company’s “foray into the sports betting world a complete failure.” Snowden, however, expressed confidence in a turnaround for ESPN Bet, fueled in part by an integration into ESPN’s forthcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service. 

“We’re finally getting to a point, after being live with ESPN Bet for a year and a half, where the really deep integrations that we were really excited about when we did the deal are starting to happen,” he said in an earnings call with analysts.

The defending-champion Celtics have taken heat around NBA circles after losing two home games and falling behind, 2–0, to the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It doesn’t help that Boston, the championship favorite entering this season, is projected to have the most-expensive payroll in NBA history next year.

However, on the other side of the bracket, the Cavaliers are facing a similar situation after losing twice to the Pacers at home. Like the Celtics, Cleveland also blew a 20-point lead in Game 2 and lost in heartbreaking fashion after a go-ahead three from Tyrese Haliburton. 

Looking ahead to next season, the Cavaliers already have $217.8 million on the books—third in the NBA behind the Celtics and Suns, according to Basketball Reference. That number will likely rise as it reflects only the 11 players currently under contract for next year. The league roster minimum is 14.

The Cavaliers had the league’s 16th-highest payroll this year, but max extensions for Donovan Mitchell (three years, $150.3 million) and Evan Mobley (five years, $224 million) will hit their books next season. In the 2026–2027 season, Cleveland is already locked in for a league-leading $230.6 million in contracts. Barring any major changes, the Cavaliers will be repeat luxury-tax offenders and also be penalized for passing the second-apron threshold.

A second-round loss this year would be a disappointing exit for a team that won 64 regular-season games en route to the No. 1 seed in the East. The positive for Cleveland is that their roster is relatively young—none of the players currently under contract for next season have hit the age of 30. But the limited flexibility begs the question of whether the Cavaliers need to shake up their roster, especially as injuries have plagued their playoff run once again.

All-Star guard Darius Garland has not played since Game 2 of Cleveland’s opening-round series against the Heat due to a toe injury, and he is listed as out for Game 3 on Friday against Indiana. Garland had a down year last season after missing 25 games mostly due to injury. His return to form this year, alongside the addition of head coach Kenny Atkinson, has been credited for the Cavaliers’ strong season.

The team has also relied on Sixth Man of the Year finalist Ty Jerome—but he will be a free agent this year and likely command a larger contract.

This postseason run is far from over for the Cavaliers, especially considering that comebacks have been the theme of the playoffs. But questions certainly loom over the team’s future if this year’s end result is a second consecutive semifinals exit.