Pandemonium ensued outside Madison Square Garden after New York came back from 29 points down against the San Antonio Spurs to pull off a miraculous victory that gave them a 3-games-to-1 lead in the best-of-seven NBA Finals.
Security was tight outside MSG on the night of June 10 as the NYPD attempted to quell some of the rowdier fan behavior at previous watch parties. The gathering that had been scheduled for Plaza33 during Game 4 was canceled just hours before the contest after MSG management disputed that the city only approved a permit for 1,000 ticketed fans.
Though the watch party was off, the fans came to the Garden and the surrounding area anyway. The barricades and large NYPD presence only appeared to push the crowds further into Midtown.
In the end, the preparations were not enough to keep the spontaneous June 10 festivities trouble-free. The NYPD said Thursday it arrested 56 people for various party-related mischief, during which 10 cops were injured.
With the Knicks on the verge of potentially winning a championship, the frenzy experienced after Game 4 could very well be just a taste of an even bigger and more chaotic party to come for the city. The NYPD said New Yorkers could and should celebrate, but they need to do so safely and without engaging in “incredibly reckless and dangerous behavior.”
“This is an exciting time for the Knicks and for fans across New York City. The NYPD wants New Yorkers to be able to enjoy these celebrations, but our primary responsibility is to ensure that everyone can do so safely. Once again, there were large crowds of people who engaged in incredibly reckless and dangerous behavior last night, both during and after the game. This demonstrates exactly why the NYPD has increased our presence in and around Madison Square Garden,” the NYPD said in a statement.
How Knicks fans overwhelmed Midtown during an epic comeback
Police said fans began gathering at the corner of West 35th Street and 8th Avenue at about 9 p.m. on June 10. The horde of teens and young adults climbed parked cars and moving trucks after they spotted a Spurs fan and chased them through the city streets.
They stomped on the vehicles’ roofs and dismantled a parking sign by shaking it until it flew from the pole. The fans then almost trampled one another fleeing the scene after one fan ignited some fireworks.
The NYPD’s Strategic Response Group unit, decked out in riot gear with batons, attempted to disperse the crowd on several occasions throughout Wednesday night. Fans continued to engage in small pockets of disorderly conduct, throwing objects and engaging in skirmishes, even as their beloved team seemed on the way to a surefire loss.
However, the real havoc didn’t unfold until fans detonated what appeared to be a series of smoke bombs.
Several large explosions rocked Midtown, leaving those nearby engulfed in plumes of smoke and a ringing in their ears. Police quickly began making arrests, charging one man as he bent down to light one of the devices. Officers slammed him into the window of a 7-Eleven, cracking the glass before tackling others to the ground.
The masses of fans decked out in Knick orange-and-blue then headed to Times Square, where they let off more fireworks, sending tourists in the area fleeing. By the time they got there, the Knicks had completed their historic comeback at the Garden, the crowds heard of it and turned jubilant – and the victory celebrations began citywide.
Fans blocked traffic on 8th Avenue, shattering the windshields of yellow cabs and police vehicles. Others trashed Citibikes. Police put on a massive show of force that saw them deploy horses from the Mounted Unit and a mass of cops on foot in riot gear. Some of the department’s highest-ranking members, Chief of Department Michael LiPetri, and First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella, could be seen responding to the disarray.
According to NYPD sources, an estimated crowd of 10,000 people gathered north of Madison Square Garden between 5th and 8th Avenues. As the cops advanced down 8th Avenue, some from the crowd threw objects, including glass bottles, sending the police into a rage. Cops could be seen bolting down the roadway and tackling people to the ground, as well as pushing and shoving photojournalists.
In some parts of the city, police reported, fans broke into a tractor-trailer and stole items inside before throwing them at cops and the crowd, attempted to flip over a taxi, climbed light poles and scaffolding, and continued to take over streets.
Police say 56 people were taken into custody, 15 of whom were charged criminally. Charges included assault on a police officer, criminal possession of a weapon for a knife, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction of governmental administration, and trademark counterfeiting. Cops say 41 were released with criminal court summonses. Authorities also say ten members of the department were injured, including one who was hit in the head with a bottle.
It wasn’t until just before 1 a.m. that the crowds finally dispersed and authorities regained control of the area.
