Knicks fans face pricey airfare to fly to San Antonio for NBA Finals Game 5

Flights leaving the metropolitan area for San Antonio were priced significantly higher than usual on Thursday morning, with some costing more than $2,000, following the Knicks' Game 4 NBA Finals win on Wednesday.

The Knicks are heading to San Antonio on Saturday to play the Spurs at Frost Bank Center, with tipoff set for 8:30 p.m. Will some Long Islanders be joining them?

One roundtrip economy ticket leaving Thursday and returning Saturday ranged from the upper hundreds of dollars to well over $1,000, with some reaching $2,000, according to online flight tracking websites Google Flights and Expedia.

On Google Flights, prices for one roundtrip economy ticket on the route usually costs between $320 and $465.

As of Thursday evening, Google Flights listed a handful of flights from MacArthur Airport that could get fans to San Antonio in time for the game. Only one, the priciest at $1,408, has a single stop. The rest all have two layovers but cost just a bit less, $1,167. Those have travel times ranging from 7 hours and 40 minutes to almost 15 hours. 

The travel site Expedia listed few options. Among them was an American Airlines flight from Kennedy Airport departing at noon Saturday with a layover in Charlotte and scheduled to land in San Antonio at 5 p.m. that would set you back $1,238. 

Flights leaving Saturday morning, but all also getting in at 5 p.m. after stops in Charlotte, range from $1,631 to $1,692.

Flights listed on the site earlier Thursday going for $824 were either sold out or were that much pricier.

For many Long Islanders, deciding to pay a hefty price to watch a finals game takes some consideration. 

Hugh McQuillan, 48, of Bellmore, flew to Dallas and drove four hours to San Antonio to watch Game 1 with friend BIll Selby, a Farmingdale native who lives in Texas.

McQuillan said he would like to attend Game 5 with his 11-year-old son Hugh. He said he has been monitoring game tickets and airline tickets prices since Wednesday night.

 He said he has been following the team since the mid-90s. Having his son along with him to share the journey and share in their passion for the Knicks is special. It's "something I could never ask for," he said.

If they forgo the trip, McQuillan is ready to host his own watch party and project the game onto his garage on Saturday, he said. At the end of the day, watching a "once-in-a-lifetime experience" with loved ones is a special win in itself.

Joe Nestola Jr., 28, who attended Game 2 in San Antonio with his father, Joe Nestola Sr., told Newsday he would most likely not attend Game 5 because he leaves for a work trip on Sunday.

Nestola Jr., who is from Dix Hills, said airline prices were most likely higher than usual when he traveled to San Antonio last week, but thought it was worth the expense, especially for an experience with his dad.

"If I didn't have other obligations, then I would certainly consider it," he said. "It could be once in a lifetime opportunity."