New York City is two wins away from its first NBA championship since 1973. After a thrilling 105-104 victory against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2, the Knicks return home to Madison Square Garden with a 2-0 Finals lead.
By winning both opening games on the gritty road, the team has extended its postseason winning streak to 13 games. For a city that has waited 53 years for a title, the excitement has moved well beyond the arena and into the streets of Manhattan.
As a result, the NYPD is sending reinforcements to keep the peace before nighttime celebrations get out of hand.
NYC streets flooded with NYPD reinforcements to tame wild Knicks watch parties
Every Knicks win this postseason has turned New York into a pressure cooker and Game 2 blew the lid off.
Legion Hoops shared footage on social media of hundreds of NYPD officers marching in formation through a packed Midtown Manhattan intersection late Friday night, deployed to manage the surge of fans flooding the streets after the final buzzer. There was absolute pandemonium in Manhattan, even though the game was played on the road.
NYPD bringing in reinforcements to control the crazy Knicks fans. Oh my
(via _goodlookrell/IG) pic.twitter.com/2WryN2VWRN
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 6, 2026
The scenes on the ground matched the chaos on the court. Victor Wembanyama had 29 points and nine rebounds for San Antonio, but a costly turnover with 9.5 seconds left, throwing the ball off Stephon Castle’s back, handed New York the ball.
Jalen Brunson, who struggled heavily by shooting just 7-of-25, hit the game-deciding free throw after Wembanyama fouled him. Wemby’s last-ditch jumper then missed at the buzzer. Karl-Anthony Towns led New York with 21 points and 13 rebounds and has been a clear early frontrunner for Finals MVP, with his physical defense on Wembanyama keeping the Spurs star off balance throughout the series.
Knicks faithful react to NYPD mobilization
The sight of a full NYPD deployment on a Friday night in Midtown has folks on social media losing ther minds.
One fan wrote that the NYPD was “preparing like Thanos is landing in Manhattan.”
Another added that the atmosphere around MSG after big playoff wins is “New York sports culture at its peak.”
A third one joked, “They’re gonna need the Justice League and the Avengers to keep the city from burning down.”
The fourth viewer claimed, “This is just the beginning. They will need the National Guard if they win a title.”
A random X user remarked, “The city has been starving for a title for long I guess.”
This moment is deeply meaningful for a Knicks fan base that has watched the Yankees, Giants, Rangers, and Islanders combine for dozens of championships since 1977 without a single Knicks banner to show for it. New York last appeared in the Finals in 1999, losing to these same Spurs in five games.
The series now shifts to Madison Square Garden, where the atmosphere will be unmatched. When the Knicks host Game 3, it will mark the first NBA Finals game at the Garden in exactly 9,845 days, with the tipoff scheduled for Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
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