The night before, the die-hard Knicks fan “sprinted” from the Hudson Theatre to Madison Square Garden for Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

Mariska Hargitay pulls out Knicks jersey on stage during Broadway performance

The night before, the die-hard Knicks fan "sprinted" from the Hudson Theatre to Madison Square Garden for Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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June 12, 2026 11:43 a.m. ET

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Mariska Hargitay backstage and on stage at the Hudson Theatre for 'Every Brilliant Thing'. Credit:

Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images; Mariska Hargitay/Instagram

- Mariska Hargitay brought her New York Knicks fandom to the stage during her performance in *Every Brilliant Thing *on Thursday night.

- The night before, the actress had "sprinted" from her show to Madison Square Garden to watch courtside as the Knicks took on the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

- The Knicks face the Spurs in San Antonio for Game 5 on Saturday night.

Mariska Hargitay is a New York Knicks fan on and off stage.

During her performance in the one-person play *Every Brilliant Thing** *on Thursday evening, the die-hard Knicks fan pulled out her Jalen Brunson jersey, showing it off as the audience burst into applause.

The show focuses on a person looking back at their life and what carried them through from a list of wonderful things, big and small, that make life worth living. It only seemed fitting for Hargitay to unpack a Knicks jersey among the props.

"My things brilliant, My audience on stage, Mariska Hargitay hive, Knicks in five," reads the caption on an Instagram post accompanying a video of the moment. The rhyme references a viral chant that has taken the internet by storm during the NBA Finals in which the Knicks are currently up 3-1 against the San Antonio Spurs.

The day before, Hargitay had a game plan in mind for attending Game 4 after her 7 p.m. show wrapped up. "I took four minutes off the running time of my show, and I knew the traffic would be crazy, so I sprinted from the Hudson Theater on 44th and 6th to MSG,” Hargitay told *The Hollywood Reporter*.

Game 4 started at 8:30 p.m., minutes after her show ended.

"But I knew everything was going to be alright, because I was wearing my Jalen Brunson Kobe 5 Protos that Jalen gave me a few months ago. But I’m not gonna lie, the ten block sprint after a 2-show day was no joke," she said. Brunson is her favorite player — and the feeling is mutual.

Este Haim, Taylor Swift, and Mariska Hargitay at Game 4 on June 10.

During the game, Hargitay sat courtside next to Taylor Swift, Alana Haim, and Este Haim, all of whom wore coordinated Knicks shirts. Swift had an extra "Stevie Knicks" shirt, which Hargitay wore.

The game was a nail-biter, with the Knicks trailing the Spurs by nearly 30 points at the first half, only to come back in the second half and win in the last minute of the game by one point.

The *Law & Order** *actress found the experience exhilarating. “I love my husband, and our wedding night was great and all, but I think it might have been the greatest night of my life,” she told *The Hollywood Reporter*.

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“The game was so brutal, down 29 at the half, but I’m telling you, to watch this team fight and claw their way back — to see that look in Jalen’s eyes — there are just endless life lessons in there. And then OG comes flying in, his orange and blue cape fluttering behind him, and then it’s just pandemonium," she said.

"It‘ll get replayed again and again, not just as an epic moment in basketball, but on the highlight reel of the best moments in sports. And all I could think was 'THAT JUST HAPPENED!!!' And 'OH MY GOD, I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!' And 'OH MY GOD, I LOVE THIS CITY!!!'"

Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni at Game 3 on June 8.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty

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The Knicks will face off against the Spurs in San Antonio on Saturday night for Game 5.

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