Knicks Win Chaos
NYPD Makes Multiple Arrests Outside Madison Square Garden After Knicks Game 4 Victory
Eight people were arrested outside Madison Square Garden after the New York Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 10, Ottawa Sun. Fans flooded Seventh Avenue after OG Anunoby hit a game-winning putback with 1.2 seconds left, capping a historic 29-point comeback — the largest in NBA Finals history. The NYPD deployed stun grenades to scatter an estimated 5,000 fans near 33rd Street, and officers were still hunting suspects in a mob attack on a Spurs fan who was beaten and stripped of his jersey.
The arrests — eight in Game 4 alone — brought the total number of fan-related arrests across the Finals series in New York to more than 50, according to The Province. Charges from Game 4 included felony assault on police officers, criminal possession of a weapon, menacing, resisting arrest, and obstructing governmental administration. Several officers sustained minor injuries.
NYPD Deploys Stun Grenades as Crowd Surges
When the final buzzer sounded, thousands of fans broke through security barriers and poured onto the streets of Midtown Manhattan. The NYPD's Strategic Response Group fired stun grenades — also called flash-bangs — to push back the crowd, Sault Star reported. Videos circulated online showed fans climbing vehicles, street signs, and light poles. One police vehicle was damaged, its windshield cracked by the unruly crowd.
More than 1,000 NYPD officers had been assigned specifically to MSG patrols for the game. Commissioner Jessica Tisch had warned before tip-off: "We will have no tolerance for climbing on light poles or destruction of property." Despite the heavy police presence, crowds overwhelmed parts of Seventh Avenue for nearly an hour after the final whistle.
Dolan vs. City Hall Kills the Watch Party
An official MSG watch party never happened — and that may have made things worse. Mayor Zohran Mamdani approved a permit for a 500-to-999-person watch party outside the arena. But MSG CEO James Dolan refused to accept the cap and pulled the plug. "Mr. Dolan has now decided to cancel," Mamdani posted on social media, according to Prince George Post.
Dolan fired back, calling Mayor Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Tisch the city's "biggest party poopers." MSG claimed the security limits were a "convenient excuse" to suppress celebrations. With no official screen or sanctioned gathering spot, thousands of fans had nowhere to go — and spilled into unregulated streets instead, multiplying the NYPD's security burden.
Spurs Fan Beaten and Stripped by Mob
The most alarming incident of the night did not involve police. A group of Knicks fans surrounded a 39-year-old Spurs supporter, beat him, and tore his jersey off his back, Chatham Daily News reported. The NYPD is now using surveillance footage and social media video to identify the attackers. No arrests had been made in connection with that assault as of early June 11.
The attack drew condemnation from across the sports world. Spurs star Victor Wembanyama said, "It's a game... I am all for passion, but to the respect of each other. It's unacceptable." The incident echoed similar jersey-stripping attacks from earlier in the series. Mayor Mamdani and actor Ben Stiller had already called the behavior "hooligan-like" after similar videos surfaced following Game 3.
53-Year Drought Fuels a City on the Edge
The Knicks last won an NBA championship in 1973 — 53 years ago. This Finals matchup against the Spurs is the first between these two teams since 1999. That history has made the city electric, but it has also made crowd control a near-impossible task. Game 2 alone produced 26 arrests, after fans climbed onto ambulances and damaged Citi Bikes, Toronto Sun reported.
With the series now shifting to San Antonio for Game 5, officials in Texas are already reviewing New York's security failures. The goal: prevent any retaliatory violence against Knicks fans traveling south. Meanwhile, the NYPD says it will release higher-quality surveillance footage of the Game 4 street brawls. The league's security office is also monitoring the situation closely as the series heads into its final stretch.
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