A night of raw emotion and chaos: 63 arrested as Knicks fans celebrate NBA championship

(CNN) — Jubilant Knicks fans flooded the streets of New York on Saturday night, crowding into intersections and climbing light poles and buses as they celebrated the team’s first NBA championship in more than 50 years.

But the celebration turned chaotic as the night wore on, with five school buses set ablaze in Times Square, five police cars damaged on Sixth Avenue and a 17-year-old boy shot in the foot near the heart of the festivities.

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.

Police also reported four slashings or stabbings overnight.

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

A night of raw emotion

Although the game was played in San Antonio against the Spurs, Knicks fans gathered at watch parties across the city to witness the team battle back in the fourth quarter to clinch the title.

For the fans gathered at a packed watch party outside Madison Square Garden, it was a night of raw emotion, CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz reported. As the Knicks closed out the win, fans erupted in high-fives and chants, Prokupecz said.

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

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

Traffic on the streets around the Garden came to a standstill after the game as the NYPD maintained a heavy presence. The early celebration began peacefully as it spilled into the streets around the Garden, with some fans climbing on street signs and jumping on vehicles. In Times Square, chants of “Let’s go Knicks” filled the air.

Celebration turns chaotic

As celebrations stretched into the night, large crowds — ultimately estimated at tens of thousands of people — gathered north of Madison Square Garden between Fifth and Ninth avenues, the NYPD said. The crowds grew increasingly destructive as the game progressed and after it ended.

The NYPD said there were no issues inside the security zone Saturday night and that the unrest occurred on the outskirts of the secure area.

“As the game progressed and then following the game, the crowds became increasingly destructive, and there were many incidents of incredibly reckless and dangerous behavior,” the NYPD said in a statement.

Around 2 a.m., a 17-year-old boy was shot once in the left foot at 43rd Street and Broadway in Times Square, the NYPD said. Because crowds had completely taken over 42nd Street and an ambulance could not reach the scene, he was transported by police car to a hospital, where he was in stable condition. Three persons of interest are in custody and the firearm was recovered at the scene, the NYPD said.

Elsewhere in Times Square, officers moved in after crowds began destroying and setting fire to five school buses that had been used to shuttle people from Manhattan to MetLife Stadium for World Cup matches, according to the NYPD. Video obtained by CNN showed the buses ablaze as the chaos spread through the area. People in the crowd struck the buses with bats, jumped on top of them and rocked them back and forth, police said.

On Sixth Avenue, tensions escalated around 2 a.m. after five police cars were badly damaged, with front and back windshields shattered. People took bats to the vehicles and jumped on top of them, the NYPD said. Bottles and coolers were thrown at officers as more police moved in, Prokupecz reported.

After a small trash fire was set, mounted officers — their horses fitted with protective eye gear — formed a line to push people out of the street as crowd-control units gathered behind them.

Electricity in the air

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

Metal barricades surrounded Madison Square Garden, and police checkpoints went 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 River and a sold-out 5 Seconds of Summer concert inside Madison Square Garden, New York’s streets were a swirl of colors and loyalties. Supporters of Brazil and Morocco mingled with Knicks faithful in a rare collision of two of the world’s biggest sporting events 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 secure the best seats inside a barricaded area for Saturday’s watch party.

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

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, open apartment windows and subway cars, and even the most nonchalant of New Yorkers erupt into chants.

And the city continues to find plenty of ways to celebrate and show its team pride. The New York City Department of Sanitation informed its workers Knicks hats will be considered compliant with uniform rules throughout next week.

“New York’s Strongest are New Yorkers above all else, and we’re as thrilled about the championship as everyone else,” Joshua Goodman, a spokesperson for the department, told CNN. “We cleaned up the celebrations last night just like the Knicks cleaned up the Spurs.”

A pattern of unrest

Saturday’s chaos echoed earlier playoff celebrations that had already drawn scrutiny to the city’s handling of large crowds.

Ecstasy quickly gave way to chaos after Game 4 on Wednesday night. Thousands of fans flooded the streets surrounding Madison Square Garden, some climbing traffic lights, scaffolding and construction cranes, while others jumped 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, 15 of whom were arrested. Ten officers were injured that night as well. 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, police said.

Crowds around the Garden swelled past 10,000 people Wednesday night. The scenes recalled a gathering of roughly 7,000 people at a Bryant Park watch party 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 who tried to rip off the jersey, video showed. 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, the NYPD said. He was hospitalized in stable condition.

A dispute over security

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 Mamdani over the city’s security plan, which included a large perimeter and additional crowd-control measures around 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, writing, “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 Game 4 that the violent behavior “demonstrates exactly why” the department increased its presence around Madison Square Garden.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Chris Boyette, Diego Mendoza and Sarah Dewberry contributed to this report.