The NYPD said there were multiple arrests but wouldn’t have a total until later on Sunday.
A Knicks fan waves a flag while standing on top of a traffic light poles after the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to win the series, in New York, on June 14, 2026. The Knicks won the NBA Championship for the first time since 1973, for the third time in franchise history.KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 14: New York Knicks fans climb on buses as they celebrate after they win the NBA Finals in Times Square on June 14, 2026 in New York City. The New York Knicks lead the San Antonio Spurs 3-1 and could win the franchise’s first NBA championship since 1973 if they win tonight.Adam Gray/Getty
Knicks owner James Dolan, speaking in San Antonio after the game, urged fans to stay calm.
“We need to tell everybody in New York that we know that they’re celebrating, we want them to have a great time,” said Dolan, interrupting guard Josh Hart’s press conference. “Please be safe. Don’t get hurt, don’t hurt anybody.”
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
The city will officially celebrate the Knicks on Thursday with a parade and City Hall ceremony.
As the clock ticked to the final buzzer on Saturday night, anxiety that had dominated the game’s first three quarters gave way to euphoria. An orange-and-blue-tinted fever dream that started with the Knicks’ first playoff game two months ago ended in the third title in their 80-year history.
Fireworks boomed over Brooklyn and Central Park. Fans flocked to Times Square and ran through the streets. Outside the Garden, they sang the team’s anthem: “Go New York, Go New York, Go!”
Police officers and ambulance workers shouted “Let’s go Knicks” over loudspeakers in Brooklyn. Strangers shook hands and hugged. In the Lincoln Tunnel, where people were riding buses back from the World Cup at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, drivers honked their horns in celebration.
“I’m so overwhelmed. I’m so happy,” said Mathieu Ogno, of Long Island, who fought back tears as he soaked in the victory at a team-sanctioned watch party at Wollman Rink in Central Park.
Ogno wore the jersey of Knicks captain Jalen Brunson, whose 45 points propelled the Knicks to victory and him to the NBA Finals MVP. Brunson’s gritty determination and chip-on-his-shoulder style have made him a fan favorite, embodying New York’s working-class ethos.
The Knicks’ championship — 19,392 days since their last — capped an extraordinary postseason for a franchise that hadn’t been to the NBA Finals since losing to the Spurs in 1999. Since April 23, the team has won 15 of 16 games, with its lone loss coming Monday in Game 3.
Their last title, in 1973, was also won on the road in a Game 5. Their first, in 1970, was won at home in a Game 7 thriller. Neither was celebrated with a parade.
“I’m happy to see my Knicks finally make it over the hump,” said Shawn Muoneke, 26. “I’ve seen them knock on the door. They were knocking on the door the past few years. But they finally made it over the hump, and I’m so happy to see it and I’m so happy I’m in the city to experience it.”
Muoneke, born a year after the Knicks’ last trip to the NBA Finals, started rooting for them when he was 10. He drove from Maryland to be in the city for Game 5 at the team’s Central Park watch party.
“I saw the ups, the downs and I watched the team come back up, and I was so happy to see them finally reach the highest echelon of stardom as a team,” Muoneke said.
After the Knicks’ win, he said, the vibes in the city “are the highest they’ve ever been.”
President Donald Trump, a longtime Knicks fan who attended Game 3 at the Garden with Dolan, congratulated the team in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“What a year it has been but, even more so, what incredible playoff wins we have all witnessed, especially the last four – Maybe the greatest in the history of basketball,” Trump wrote.
With Brunson’s clutch performance, he added, “a superstar was born.”
After several dozen arrests throughout the playoffs and violence after Games 3 and 4 in New York that left officers injured and a teen in a coma, police girded for unrest as Saturday bled into Sunday.
“As we celebrate, be responsible, look out for one another, stay safe, be smart, and make this a night that reflects the very best of our city,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on social media. “Let’s go Knicks.”
New York Knicks fans celebrate in the streets after the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Finals, on June 14, 2026, in New York.Andres Kudacki/AP Photo/Andres Kudacki
Police officers patrol as Knicks fans fill the street celebrating after the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to win the series, in New York, on June 14, 2026. The Knicks won the NBA Championship for the first time since 1973, for the third time in franchise history.KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images
New York Knicks fans celebrate in the streets after the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Finals, on June 14, 2026, in New York.Andres Kudacki/AP Photo/Andres Kudacki
__
Emily Wang Fujiyama contributed reporting.