NEW YORK (AP) — An NBA finals viewing party in Manhattan on Monday turned “incredibly reckless,” New York City police claimed, as some dejected Knicks fans scaled light poles, pelted officers with objects and ripped signs out of the street following the team’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
The rowdy scenes came a few blocks from Madison Square Garden, where elated fans have typically gathered during the team’s historic playoff run. But the area outside the arena was largely off-limits to the public on Monday as a result of President Donald Trump’s attendance at the game.
Instead, roughly 7,000 people gathered at nearby Bryant Park for a city-hosted watch party.
While the party was largely calm, some fans blocked traffic and refused to disperse, and others threw glass objects or brawled in the street, according to police and video of the altercations.
In total, eight people were arrested — two for assaulting a police officer — and 13 others were issued criminal court summons. Police said that five officers were injured. The New York Police Department did not immediately provide information about the nature of their injuries or details on the people arrested.
In a statement, the department said that “the crowd became increasingly rowdy, violent, and destructive, and there were many incidents of disorderly and dangerous behavior.”
Members of the crowd “engaged in incredibly reckless behavior — there were large physical and violent fights that resulted in multiple injuries,” the statement continued.
A spokesperson for Mayor Zohran Mamdani emphasized that the “overwhelming majority” of fans had watched the game peacefully.
“But the fights and other disruptive incidents — including assaults on police officers — in various parts of the city are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” the spokesperson, Sam Raskin, added.
Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama had not heard about fans getting attacked.
“My thoughts, of course, is that we can’t forget it’s a game,” Wembanyama said. “We’re just playing a game out there. I am all for passion, but to the respect of each other. It’s unacceptable.”
A watch party outside Madison Square Garden will be held when the Knicks host the Spurs on Wednesday for the fourth game of the series. The area will see similar security measures from the previous game, with the NYPD saying 1,000 people with tickets will be allowed at the watch party and everyone will be screened.
In response, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. called Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch “New York City’s biggest party poopers” in a statement Tuesday.
“We now know these restrictions were never about the President — it was just a convenient excuse to restrict how and when Knicks fans celebrate,” the statement said.
Knicks owner James Dolan is a friend and longtime supporter of Trump.
During the conference finals last month, the NYPD announced it would not support watch parties outside the arena, citing “very rough” crowds as a public safety threat.
But that decision — which ultimately rests with the mayor’s office — was later reversed after the Knicks reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
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This story has been updated to correct the date of the next NBA Finals game. It is Wednesday, not Thursday.