Knicks title celebrations turn chaotic in Manhattan

A long-awaited New York Knicks championship sent crowds pouring into the streets across the city Saturday night, but the celebrations were marred by violence in Manhattan, where a teenager was shot, buses were torched and 63 people were arrested, police said.

The Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 in Texas, clinching the franchise’s first NBA title since 1973. In New York, fans packed bars, sidewalks, apartment lawns and streets to mark a victory more than half a century in the making.

Marvita Davis, 70, was a teenager in Harlem the last time the Knicks won a championship. She watched Saturday’s game projected onto a screen on the front lawn of her apartment building in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood.

“It’s euphoria,” Davis told The Guardian.

Across the five boroughs, fans chanted “Let’s go Knicks,” drivers honked horns, fireworks went off and music filled streets and bars. Firefighters drove through the city holding a Knicks blanket. In Brooklyn, residents chanted for a passing bus.

“The city is alive, man, like never before,” said Nick Pineda, a 47-year Bronx resident who watched the game at a Brooklyn restaurant.

Knicks owner James Dolan urged fans to celebrate safely after the win, interrupting player Josh Hart’s news conference in San Antonio.

“We need to tell everybody in New York that we know that they’re celebrating, we want them to have a great time,” Dolan said. “Please be safe. Don’t get hurt, don’t hurt anybody.”

But as the night went on, police said crowds in Midtown Manhattan became “increasingly destructive,” with “many incidents of incredibly reckless and dangerous behaviour.” Tens of thousands gathered outside Madison Square Garden, according to a New York Police Department estimate cited by The Guardian. Officers in riot gear tried to clear the area, yelling, “Move Back. Move back. Move back.”

Gunshots were reported near 42nd Street and Broadway at about 2 a.m. Sunday, prompting people to run for cover. A 17-year-old boy was shot in the foot, officials said. Police said preliminary reports indicated no fatalities. The teenager was taken to a hospital in an NYPD vehicle because an ambulance could not reach 43rd Street through the crowds.

Three people of interest were taken into custody, and a firearm was recovered at the scene, police said.

The NYPD also reported four slashings or stabbings, brawls, fireworks set off in large crowds, destruction of private vehicles and crowds refusing to disperse. Five yellow school buses were set alight or destroyed with bats and people jumping on them, police said. The BBC reported the buses had been used to shuttle World Cup football fans back to Times Square after a Brazil-Morocco match; The Guardian reported, citing a police spokesperson, that the buses were slated to transport fans from the city to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for World Cup games.

Police said some people also damaged police cars with bats and jumped on them, shattering windshields. Ten officers were injured overnight, including one who was punched in the face and another struck with a glass bottle. Charges against those arrested included assault on a police officer, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration.

For many fans, the disorder did not overshadow the title. Rashid Taylor, 51, credited Jalen Brunson, who scored 45 points in Game 5, with leading the Knicks.

“They got the champion, fearless leader just taking them through all the fire,” Taylor told The Guardian. “This team is just heart and soul and passion and not backing down.”

Official celebrations are scheduled for Thursday, with a parade and a City Hall ceremony. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city will present the team with keys to the city.

“For more than 50 years, New Yorkers have waited for this moment,” Mamdani said. “Through near misses, heartbreak and a hope that every year could be our year, this city never stopped believing in the Knicks.”