CLEVELAND — New York supporters turned Monday night’s Eastern Conference finals Game 4 into their own celebration at Rocket Arena, as the Knicks stood just one victory away from completing a sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Standing on the brink of their first NBA Finals berth since 1999, the Knicks drew massive support from thousands of traveling fans, including several high-profile celebrity supporters who made the trip to Cleveland.
The volume of “Let’s Go Knicks!” cheers during pregame warmups suggested New York supporters may have actually outnumbered local fans, leaving Cleveland supporters clinging to slim hopes their team could achieve the impossible by overcoming a 3-0 series deficit. No NBA team in history has accomplished such a comeback, with teams holding a perfect 164-0 record when leading 3-0 in best-of-seven playoff series.
The star-studded New York contingent included actor Timothée Chalamet with his girlfriend Kylie Jenner, filmmaker Spike Lee, comedian Tracy Morgan, several rappers, and former Knicks legends Walt “Clyde” Frazier and Allan Houston.
Cleveland countered with rapper Machine Gun Kelly representing the home team, while also bringing back fan-favorite guard Matthew Dellavedova from their 2016 championship squad for good luck. The Cavaliers had previously hosted pop superstar Taylor Swift and her fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, during Game 3.
New York fans had already made their presence felt during the Knicks’ Game 3 victory, prompting Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell to acknowledge the crowd dynamics were affected by Cleveland’s poor performance.
“I’m from New York, this doesn’t shock me. They do it in every arena,” Mitchell said. “That’s how Knicks fans are. I was one back in the day.”
