![](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f56d13b3ffef9276a88fc129c360a6f0f9-mariska-christopher.rsquare.w330.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler\/NBAE via Getty Images\n <\/p>\n
By now, we\u2019re used to the usual slate of New York Knicks courtside celebrities: Ben Stiller, Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet<\/a>, Tracy Morgan, and the de facto mayor of Knicks fans, Spike Lee<\/a> (in his Pope Leo jersey, no less<\/a>). Game three in the NBA Finals was the first in the series to be played in New York, which brought out a whole slate of what we can call tepid-weather fans: people who definitely root for the team but aren\u2019t going to travel to, say, Indiana, to watch them win. We can\u2019t all be Timoth\u00e9e and Spike, you know? Not only did the president show up at the game (much to the dismay of pedestrians<\/a> and viewers<\/a>), but the star-studded courtside also boasted the likes of DJ Khaled, Jay-Z, Eli Manning, Tina Fey, and, perhaps most notably, Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay. Law & Order: SVU\u2019s longtime duo has come to watch the Knicks before<\/a>, but they were in rare form at the June 8 game, almost policing the controversial refereeing that took place throughout the night.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n It\u2019s not uncommon for courtside fans (celebrity or otherwise) to get animated about calls, but it\u2019s a little less common to see otherwise no-nonsense fictional enforcers go full Method on some of the calls last night (many of which are still being debated this morning<\/a>). When someone like Chalamet gets up to yell at the refs, he runs the risk of looking like a dedicated, if not petulant, kid who thinks he knows better than professionals. When people who play cops and detectives get up to yell at the refs, it feels like they might be onto something<\/a>.<\/p>\n Though Hargitay and Meloni\u2019s enthusiasm didn\u2019t sway the game in the Knicks\u2019 direction, their stern dedication to making sure the plays were called correctly made them a welcome addition to the courtside crew. The Knicks are back at Madison Square Garden on June 10 with hopefully no presidents in attendance. Meloni and Hargitay ought to be there too, just in case any funny business goes down.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Vulture Daily<\/p>\n An entertainment newsletter for the pop-culture obsessed.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n