What a victory lap!
Moments after the Knicks saved their season with an electric 111-94 win over the Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night, Mariska Hargitay and star guard Jalen Brunson found each other on the floor for a postgame embrace at Madison Square Garden.
In footage shared on the Knicks’ Instagram account, the “Law & Order: SVU” star smiled from ear to ear as she congratulated Brunson, who paired his 32 points with five rebounds and five assists.
Hargitay, 61, was featured on the Jumbotron during the game as she took in the scene with her “Law & Order: SVU” co-star, Kelli Giddish.
She also reposted a photo of the pair on her Instagram Stories, which included a fan’s caption of “girls night out.”
All of the stars came out to support the Knicks at The Garden on Thursday, including Spike Lee, Miles Teller and wife Keleigh, Timothée Chalamet and girlfriend Kylie Jenner, and Ben Stiller, who previously quipped that Hargitay is the envy of the team’s fanbase.
“The love that Mariska Hargitay gets from you postgame is the envy of every other Knicks fan, Knicks celebrity fan. She gets a hug after a loss,” Stiller said this month during an appearance on Brunson’s and Josh Hart’s “Roommates Show.”
Stiller, 59, has been a staple at Knicks games throughout the playoffs and even ventured to Indiana on Tuesday for Game 4.
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He sat beside fellow superfan Chalamet as the Knicks fell into a 3-1 series hole with the 130-121 loss.
With the Knicks returning to Indiana on Saturday for a must-win Game 6, it remains to be seen whether Stiller and the Knicks’ A-List supporters will be there.
Pacers fan Pat McAfee made note of their attendance Tuesday night, firing up the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd by dubbing the celebs “sons of bitches” in a scene that made both Stiller and Indiana supporter John Mellencamp, also in attendance, cringe.
“On behalf of most Hoosiers, I would like to apologize for our poor behavior. I’m sure the Pacers had nothing to do with this smackdown,” Mellencamp wrote Thursday on X.
McAfee acknowledged the Knicks’ Game 5 win on X and added Thursday night, “CAN’T WAIT for Game 6.”
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on Saturday.
If necessary, Game 7 will be Monday at MSG.
The winner of this series will face the Thunder in the NBA Finals, beginning next Thursday.