Paul Pierce Downplays Madison Square Garden as ‘Not Intimidating'

New York’s Madison Square Garden will be rocking on Monday night as the Knicks play their first NBA Finals home game since 1999.

The Knicks are two games away from the franchise’s first NBA title since 1973, holding a 2-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs after stealing both Game 1 and Game 2 on the road.

Madison Square Garden is considered one of the biggest stages in sports. But according to former Boston Celtics player Paul Pierce, MSG is “not as intimidating” as other arenas around the league.

"Like I know, the aura and the mystique and all the legend of the Garden, but it's not a big history there,” Pierce said during the most recent episode of the “No Fouls Given” show.

“It's not like you're walking into the Boston Garden, you see 17 [expletive] banners, 30 retired numbers,” he continued. “You know what I'm saying? It's certain arenas that has a certain mystique. And I know the Garden has like celebrities and it can be, you know, rowdy outside and all of that. But like it ain't an arena to where you like, ‘Damn, we got to go here and play.’"

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Because of this opinion, Pierce believes the Spurs have a chance to come back and win the series. He noted that several players have had impressive performances on the road at Madison Square Garden, and believes great players are “comfortable” there.

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Game 3 of the NBA Finals will tipoff at 8:30 p.m. ET on Monday.

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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 12:39 PM.