Friday night saw Midtown awash in a vibrant blend of blue and orange as throngs of jubilant Knicks supporters descended upon the streets surrounding Madison Square Garden. Their team had just clinched a victory in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
Though the game concluded nearly 2,000 miles away in San Antonio, the celebration was in full swing back in New York City. With the Knicks now just two wins shy of their first championship in over half a century, excitement reached a fever pitch.
The air was charged with chants of “Go New York, go New York, go!” and “Knicks in four!” as they reverberated along Seventh Avenue. The cacophony of honking horns from enthusiastic drivers added to the electric atmosphere.
The festivities began well before game time, with ardent fans staking out prime spots for a watch party outside the iconic arena, long before the 8:42 p.m. start.
“I’m on cloud nine,” exclaimed Lester Alexander, proudly waving a Knicks flag affixed to a broomstick.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled. As a New Yorker, nothing can dampen my spirits now—not today, not this week, not this month, not all summer,” Les, the 27-year-old fan, shared with The Post.
Les, a Harlem native, already had grand plans for a possible Knicks title.
“I’m gonna propose to the most beautiful woman I’ll meet that night. ‘Cause right now I’m single. And if I don’t find nobody I’ll just marry the game,” he declared.
Gary Charles, 31, who watched the game at a separate watch party inside MSG, said, “we’re literally writing history right now.”
He was amazed at “just the amount of people that’s coming out to just support the Knicks,” adding that “it’s magnificent, beautiful.”
Reacting to the Knicks’ 105-104 victory over the Spurs, Charles’ 33-year-old friend told The Post that “it’s a blessing.”
“A Championship win,” he said, “would unify the city, it would bring the city up in many ways, people not even realizing, you know what I’m saying? Economically, socially, emotionally.”
Randy Horowitz traveled with her two daughters and husband from Long Island to watch the game at The Mecca.
“I am ecstatic,” she said.
“I’m energized. This is why we live in New York. We feel this. No place like New York to experience a night like this,” she continued.
“I was inside. It was better than the team being there. There was so much energy — it was amazing.”
Pals Surgio Urnia, 35 and Ken Lopez, 50, also joined in on the festivities outside the Garden.
“The thing that I love about the watch party is the camaraderie between the New York culture,” said Urnia, a Brooklyn resident.
“It’s beautiful. It brings it back. It’s a feeling I haven’t felt in this city in a very long time.”
When asked how he would celebrate the Knicks winning the championship, he had a blunt response: “I’m quitting my job.”
But that wouldn’t be all for Urnia.
“I’m going to the parade. I am gonna get a new girlfriend. I’m gonna have a brand new life,” he insisted.
Lopez was much more modest.
“I’m gonna take a whole week off work,” he said.
Leaning against the barriers in front of MSG was Nasir Boston, 24, of Queens, who currently works as a security guard but hopes to get into the social media field.
“The Knicks got all of us united right now, all five boroughs including Long Island,” Boston told the Post.
And if they win the championship?
“No one is going to work,” Boston said.
Similar scenes of jubilation erupted across the city on Friday night as Central Park was home to another watch party and bars were packed to the brim with fans.
Knicks superfan and filmmaker Spike Lee was spotted in the city standing through the sunroof of a car, reaching toward a cheering crowd as fans blasted airhorns and yelled into the night, per a video posted to X by ESPN New York.
The Jeffrey, an institutional Upper East Side sports bar, slashed the prices of beer and food from 7 p.m. to tip off at 8:30 p.m. at their 1973 levels — $.73 draft beers, oysters, wings and hot dogs.
The party kicked off hours earlier as diehards secured spots at a watch party outside the World’s Most Famous Arena more than four hours before the 8:42 p.m. tipoff.
“I feel exhilarated,” said Lester Alexander, who was equipped with a Knicks flag attached to a broomstick.
