Exclusive | Inside the rowdy street-side Knicks watch parties and private celebrations for Game 3 of the Finals: Energy is off the charts

Securing a wildly expensive seat inside Madison Square Garden for a Knicks game may be impossible to get, but for many New Yorkers, the best seats in the house weren’t courtside — they were in the streets.The Knicks’ historic return to the NBA Finals has sparked a level of civic excitement the city hasn’t experienced in decades, with official watch parties, impromptu public gatherings, and thousands of fans flooding the streets before and after Game 3, the franchise’s first Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999.From Brooklyn to the West Village, on Monday night, excited, rowdy fans spilled out onto the sidewalks from packed bars.Fans decked out in orange-and-blue jerseys crowded Bryant Park and Wollman Rink.Others rented out private movie theaters to cheer on their team with family and friends.

And around Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks lost against the San Antonio Spurs, thousands gathered just to soak in the atmosphere.“What makes this Knicks run so special is that there isn’t just one way to experience it,” Ashley Cohen, 40, told The Post.“At 8pm, the TVs came out, and suddenly everyone was cheering together until the final buzzer.On the other end of the spectrum, you can be walking through the West Village, stop on a random corner where a game is playing through an open window, and before you know it, you’re cheering in unison with strangers for the rest of the night.”Last night, Midtown sports bar, American Whiskey (247 W 30th St.), charged Knicks fans $20 to watch the game — and had an incredible turnout of 500-1,000 orange and blue devoted fans for Monday night’s game.“The turnout has been nothing short of amazing,” owner Kevin Hooshangi told The Post.

“At times, none of this seems real.The energy tonight and Wednesday is off the charts.”“It’s been just as busy in the streets and on the sidewalks during the games,” Hooshangi said.

“When the Knicks win, people rush out to be a part of the celebrati...