NEW YORK, June 7 -- The din from Madison Square Garden had barely settled when Caitlin Clark sat down to dinner in Manhattan on Saturday night and felt something she rarely gets to feel: the uncomplicated joy of being a fan.

The city was still vibrating. Hours earlier, the New York Knicks had escaped San Antonio with a 105-104 victory over the Spurs in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, according to ESPN, building a 2-0 series lead and edging closer to their first championship since 1973. Now, with the series shifting home to MSG for Games 3 and 4, the whole borough was buzzing.

Clark absorbed all of it. Then she admitted she hopes it does not end quickly.

"I'm a fan of basketball, so I love great games," Clark said after the Fever fell 83-75 t...