Crazed Knicks fans plunge NYC into celebration chaos as NBA Finals ecstasy turns violent
New York City was plunged into chaos as thousands of revelers flooded the streets of Midtown after the Knicks won their first NBA championship in 53 years.
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The out-of-control Knicks fans were seen smashing up a cop car outside of Madison Square Garden, while others destroyed MTA and school buses among the madness in the hours after New York’s historic win on Saturday night.
Two maniacs were seen jumping on top of the car and smashing up its front windshield , according to a video posted by FreedomNews TV.
Fans converged into the area around the arena to celebrate the Knicks 94-90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
In another wild scene captured on video, NYPD officers took down a crazed fan and shoved several others back outside the garden.
The detained man, wearing a Knicks Finals sweatshirt, was handcuffed and escorted away but appeared to have been let go and ordered onto a sidewalk.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many people had been arrested amidst the chaos as of early Sunday.
A Spurs fan had hopped into a police vehicle in an attempt to escape the packed Knicks crowd that had surrounded it.
Hundreds of NYPD officers in riot gear raced into the area, pushing the rabble-rousers off of W31st Street.
The surging officers detained several people, taking them to the ground as the rest of the crowd ran off the street, according to video posted on X.
Officers on horseback took over an intersection on 8th Avenue, trying to disperse the crowd outside of the arena.
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Officers say they haven’t worn this much protection in the streets of the city since COVID
“I’ve been doing this job for 20 years and I’ve never had to wear riot gear,” one officer told The Post outside MSG.
A frenzied mass spread to Times Square to continue the celebration, where dozens of people, some decked out in Knicks gear, climbed on top of an MTA bus
Two school buses and an MTA bus were taken over by rowdy groups as the madness turned chaotic after midnight.
Several instigators began to destroy one of the buses, ripping the front paneling from the engine compartment and swinging the debris to the approval of the delirious crowd, according to video shot by The Post.
At one point, a shirtless man spiked the engine grill cover onto the street before two other men jumped on top of it.
Knicks owner James Dolan cautioned fans to celebrate safely as he enjoyed his first championship with the team in San Antonio.
“We want everybody tonight, in New York, be safe,” Dolan told reporters in the post-game press conference. “OK, celebrate, but be safe.”
Knicks fans across the state raced down to the city Saturday to watch the final game on the streets of New York.
“It feels amazing,” Yanal Zeid told The Post. “The city is electrified right now. There’s no further of coming together than this. This is the most you will see a city come together. We are bonding, we’re completely tied together now. It’s amazing.”
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