New York’s unlikely title run fueled epic celebrations, sky-high ticket prices and celebrities galore. Now comes the real party.
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NEW YORK — They waited for the final buzzer to be sure, but not a second longer.
As the New York Knicks captured their first NBA title in 53 years in San Antonio on Saturday night, beating the Spurs, 94-90, New Yorkers streamed out of bars and sidewalk watch parties to fill the streets across every corner of the city, faces flushed with disbelief.
With a roster of scrappy veterans facing the young but formidable Spurs, who were led by the seemingly unsolvable Victor Wembanyama, the Knicks had shocked the world, sportsbooks and even New Yorkers, winning the series in five games.
These Finals were short but packed with plot twists: a surprise 2-0 Knicks lead; an appearance by President Donald Trump, cuing long security lines and a symphony of boos; a red carpet’s worth of celebrity fans; a spat between the team’s owner and the city’s mayor; and viral videos galore, from the joyous to the frightening.
When the Knicks roared back from a 29-point deficit Wednesday, in the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history, fans crashed into the streets in what seemed like a historic celebration.
Until this.
After trailing for much of the game, star guard Jalen Brunson, who finished with 45 points, led the Knicks’ slow but steady comeback, taking the lead with three minutes to go and refusing to let go.
People filled the streets, wandering in a daze. On the Lower East Side, fireworks boomed. In Harlem, a crowd surrounded a city bus — and chanted for the bus driver as he got out to dance. Nobody needed to look for somewhere to go, because the action was everywhere, every intersection a party.
Read more Mayhem mars euphoria as New York City celebrates the Knicks’ first championship in 53 years
The city was bracing for this. Earlier in the day, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, on social media, urged fans to “be responsible, look out for one another, stay safe, be smart, and make this a night that reflects the very best of our city.” Minutes after the game ended, he announced the city would hold a parade on Thursday.
The Knicks’ win capped off a monumental day in the city’s vaunted sports history. Less than three hours before tip-off, across the river in New Jersey, the region hosted its first World Cup match of the tournament, between Brazil and Morocco. Thousands reached New Jersey by getting on a train at Penn Station, which sits below the Knicks’ Madison Square Garden.
The match ended a few minutes before the basketball game began. “Knicks in five” chants filled the Secaucus train station as young fans hustled up stairs and across the crowded platforms.
Those who made the first trains high fives and settled into their seats with a sense of accomplishment, pulling out their phones to stream the start of the Knicks game and return to Manhattan for a citywide festival.
Samuel Oakford in New York and Noah White in Washington contributed to this report.
Read more After 53 years, the New York Knicks are NBA champions. And the wait sure seemed worth it
