NEW YORK, N.Y. — On Saturday, the New York Knicks won the final game of the NBA Finals, beating the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5. The celebrations in New York City began immediately. And that’s when violence broke out.
Knicks fans poured into the streets across Midtown and around Madison Square Garden after the team clinched its first NBA title in 53 years, and while most of the celebration was euphoric, parts of it descended into fires, assaults, stabbings, and a shooting that led to dozens of arrests according to NYPD and multiple news outlets.
At least 63 people were arrested Saturday night after the win.
People lit a school bus on fire and smashed windshields. “Police said dozens of people climbed onto a row of school buses parked in Times Square after shuttling fans to the World Cup in New Jersey, then ripped off hoods and smashed windshields before igniting one of the buses,” CBS reporter Christina Fan wrote.
Officers in riot gear responded with batons and zip ties and ordered the crowd to disperse. Multiple people were detained as officers tried pushing back the crowd.
A deli worker at a deli on Eighth Avenue, south of Madison Square Garden, reported that people were trying to break in to the deli, resulting in the police barricading the door, according to the New York Times.
Nearby, a 17-year-old boy was shot in the foot.
“It was bedlam on Broadway,” ESPN wrote.
CNN reported:
A total of 63 people were arrested overnight in connection with the Knicks game, the NYPD said. Charges include assault on a police officer, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration, police said. Ten NYPD officers were injured, including one who was punched in the face and another struck with a glass bottle, the department said.
The Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94–90 in Game 5 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, closing out the series 4–1. The victory ended a decades-long championship drought for New York, marking their first title since May 10, 1973.
This isn’t the first time New Yorkers have celebrated a professional team win with violence. After the New York Rangers clinched the Stanley Cup at Madison Square Garden in June 1994, thousands of fans flooded the streets around the arena and into Midtown Manhattan to celebrate the team’s first championship in 54 years. Contemporary coverage and later retrospectives describe “wild” street scenes with dense crowds, drinking, and sporadic confrontations as the night went on. Parts of Manhattan saw unrest and clashes with police during the celebrations.
