Celebrations turned chaotic in Midtown Manhattan late Saturday night after the New York Knicks captured the NBA Finals title, with fans swarming the streets, a World Cup shuttle bus going up in flames, and a teenager suffering a gunshot wound in Times Square.
Knicks supporters flooded out of bars and outdoor venues by the thousands, setting off fireworks and smoke grenades while chanting “Knicks in five!” — a reference to the team’s clinching victory in Game 5 of the series.
The win marked the end of a long drought for the franchise. The Knicks had not claimed an NBA title since 1973, and Saturday’s victory over the San Antonio Spurs was only their third trip to the Finals, following losses to the Houston Rockets in 1994 and the San Antonio Spurs in 1999.
Around 2 a.m., a 17-year-old was struck by a bullet in the foot during the Times Square festivities, a New York police officer told Reuters. Three people of interest were taken into custody in connection with the shooting, the officer added.
The mayhem also caught up with a convoy of roughly 15 shuttle buses that had just transported soccer fans from the first World Cup match in the New York City area — a draw between Brazil and Morocco. Hundreds of mostly young people swarmed the buses in Times Square, with some climbing onto the rooftops and others getting inside and sitting behind the wheel.
One yellow school bus, contracted by the city government to help move World Cup attendees, was set on fire. A Reuters video journalist on the scene witnessed the bus burning. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was hurt in that incident. At least three additional shuttle buses sustained significant damage from the crowds.
At one point, a bicycle was hauled up onto the roof of a bus, and fans of the Brazilian national soccer team joined Knicks supporters on top of another bus, waving Brazil’s flag. A man with a bloodied face was spotted moving through the crowd, though the cause of his injury could not be determined.
Youssef Sabbr, a 49-year-old Canadian of Moroccan descent who had stepped off one of the World Cup buses before the crowds descended on it, offered his take on what he witnessed. “They are expressing their happiness, a little bit violently, but it is what it is,” he said. “That’s what happens everywhere around the world when a team wins,” Sabbr added.
After holding their positions for roughly two hours, officers in riot gear eventually moved in, chasing fans through the streets. Mounted police on horseback pushed crowds back and helped clear the area around Madison Square Garden, the Knicks’ home arena.
Carol Marino, a real estate agent from New York in her 50s, paused on a sidewalk to catch her breath after watching the game at a nearby bar. “Oh my God. It’s like New Year’s Eve times twenty,” she said of the scene around her.
Elsewhere in the city, jubilant fans beat drums, embraced one another, and scaled scaffolding and traffic signals. New York couple Dean and Christina Smiros, lifelong Knicks fans, said the victory was something they had never experienced before. “They have not won since before we were born,” Christina said.
