Knicks fans celebrate long-awaited NBA championship in streets of New York

By Alaa Elassar, Hanna Park, CNN

(CNN) — Jubilant Knicks fans flooded the streets of New York Saturday night to celebrate the team’s first NBA championship win in more than 50 years.

As of early Sunday, multiple arrests had been made, the NYPD said, noting details on the number of people detained and the possible charges they face would be released later.

For the fans gathered at a packed watch party outside Madison Square Garden, it was a night of raw emotion, CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz said.

As the Knicks closed out the win, the celebration broke loose with fans high-fiving as chants rose up around them, Prokupecz said.

“I’m a wreck right now … I knew we would do it,” one fan told CNN in the moments after final buzzer.

The game was played in Texas but Knicks fans gathered at watch parties across the city to watch the team battle back in the fourth quarter to take the title.

Traffic on the streets around the Garden came to a standstill as the NYPD maintained a heavy presence. Fans largely cooperated as officers worked to guide crowds onto the sidewalks and reopen the streets.

A few blocks away, fans crowded into an intersection with some climbing on light poles and buses. In Times Square, chants of “Let’s go Knicks” filled the air.

Knicks owner James Dolan urged fans to not to get too rowdy. “We want everybody tonight in New York, be safe, okay? Celebrate, but be safe,” he said at a news conference after the game.

A victory parade will be held Thursday, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced.

“The celebration will mark the first ticker-tape parade in Knicks history and honor a team that delivered an NBA championship to a city that has waited generations for this moment,” the city said in a news release.

Electricity in the air

Before Saturday night’s game, New York was already acting like a city possessed, with the signs of anticipation and excitement impossible to miss.

Metal barricades surrounded Madison Square Garden and police checkpoints were up around Penn Station as city officials scrambled to prevent a repeat of Wednesday night’s chaos, when dozens of fans were taken into custody after the Knicks’ historic comeback.

With the World Cup unfolding just across the Hudson, and a sold-out 5 Seconds of Summer concert inside Madison Square Garden, New York’s streets have been a swirl of colors and loyalties, as supporters of Brazil and Morocco mingled with Knicks faithful in a rare collision of two of the world’s biggest sporting obsessions and everything else a Saturday night brings to the city.

Thousands of sports fans flooded into the area near Madison Square Garden early, turning one of the most heavily trafficked areas into a bustling sea of yellow, red, orange and blue as they raced to clinch the best seats inside a barricaded area for Saturday’s watch party.

Soccer fans on their way to the first World Cup game in New Jersey moved through the crowds dressed in their jerseys, as others donned their Knicks gear and posed in front of the basketball mecca.

The countdown to bedlam

When the Knicks win, the city transforms.

Car horns become percussion instruments and fire escapes become grandstands. “Empire State of Mind,” “New York, New York” and “Juicy” pour from speakers and open apartment windows and entire subway cars, and even the most nonchalant of New Yorkers, erupt into chants.

Ecstasy quickly gave way to chaos after Game 4 Wednesday night. Thousands of fans flooded the streets surrounding Madison Square Garden, some climbing traffic lights, scaffolding and construction cranes, others jumping on moving vehicles. Videos showed fans standing atop taxis, hanging from structures and surging through intersections.

The NYPD said 56 people were taken into custody following Game 4, including 15 arrests. Ten officers were injured. Police say fans shut down traffic, attempted to overturn a taxi, ignited fireworks in dense crowds, damaged multiple NYPD vehicles, threw bottles and other objects, engaged in fights and climbed onto buildings, light poles and construction equipment.

Crowds around the Garden swelled past 10,000 people Wednesday night. The scenes echoed earlier playoff celebrations, including a massive watch-party gathering of roughly 7,000 people in Bryant Park during Game 2 that turned violent and destructive, according to a law enforcement official.

On Monday night, a 39-year-old man wearing a Spurs jersey was stomped and punched after Game 3 while walking down West 47th Street, about 15 blocks from the arena. The man was jeered and then attacked by people trying to rip off the jersey, video shows. After trying to defend himself and push people away, the man was taken to the ground from behind and kicked before his cellphone was stolen, according to the NYPD. The victim was hospitalized in stable condition.

Madison Square Garden canceled its official Game 4 watch party amid a public dispute with city officials over security restrictions. The move came after MSG executives sharply criticized the NYPD and Mayor Zohran Mamdani over the city’s security plan, which included a large perimeter and additional crowd-control measures surrounding the arena.

Dolan argued the restrictions were “designed around stopping people from celebrating around Madison Square Garden” and said the arena would not install outdoor screens for Game 4 as a result. Mamdani fired back at Dolan on X before Wednesday’s game, saying, “MSG requested a permit for a watch party for 500-999 fans. We approved that permit for 999 fans.”

The NYPD said the day after the game that violent behavior occurred again after Game 4, saying it “demonstrates exactly why” the department increased its presence around Madison Square Garden.

With watch parties back on but tensions still fresh, city officials have a security plan aimed at preventing a repeat of earlier chaos.

On Saturday morning, the NYPD deployed an extensive security operation around Madison Square Garden and Penn Station as three major events converge: the Knicks’ official outdoor watch party, a sold-out concert at the Garden and the region’s first FIFA World Cup match across the Hudson in New Jersey.

Police expected tens of thousands of people in the area and established a security perimeter with screening checkpoints, restricted access points and increased patrols.

The Knicks, meanwhile, doubled down on giving fans places to gather.

The team announced three official watch parties for Game 5, including a ticketed event at Radio City Music Hall and a free watch party at Wollman Rink in Central Park, along with the expected free outdoor gathering outside Madison Square Garden.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Hanna Park, Diego Mendoza and Sarah Dewberry contributed to this report.