Knicks fans greet Game 4 win with chaotic energy

The New York Knicks celebrate a comeback 107-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs after Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York, June 10, 2026. (Vincent Alban/The New York Times)

By CLAIRE FAHY, WESLEY PARNELL and TANIA GANGULI

The electric comeback by the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night unleashed a chaotic and optimistic energy in Madison Square Garden and the streets of New York City.

The vibe outside the arena was rowdy, and there was some tension between fans and police officers as the game entered the fourth quarter. But by the time the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs, there was elation inside and outside the Garden.

Director Spike Lee danced on the court while Taylor Swift waved her Knicks rally towel and Timothée Chalamet appeared to fight back tears. The roar of the crowd drowned out the postgame interviews taking place nearby. Fans began to file out of the arena as a security guard directed people toward the exits with “Goodnight! See you at the parade.”

As the game ended, revelers poured out of bars around the city to join the celebration.

Along Avenue A in the East Village, traffic was partially stopped at East 13th Street as people chanted “Knicks in five!” and “Go New York, Go New York, Go!” Passing garbage trucks and buses blared their horns, cheered on by fans. In midtown Manhattan, fans clambered on top of box trucks and shimmied up light poles.

When the final buzzer sounded, the explosion of energy from a crowd gathered in Park Slope could be heard underground in the Union Street subway station. Some set off fireworks.

The thrilling comeback puts the Knicks one win from their first NBA title since 1973.

Tensions around Game 4 had been high in part because Mayor Zohran Mamdani and James L. Dolan, the owner of the Knicks, were arguing Wednesday over who was to blame for the cancellation of a smaller viewing party outside the Garden. Dolan said he had rejected the city’s offer to screen the game to roughly 1,000 ticketed fans.

In response, Mamdani said on social media that Dolan’s decision was “breaking hearts across our city.”

He later said that dozens of information kiosks across the city were streaming the game. “When James Dolan cancels the watch party outside MSG, we bring the watch party to you,” Mamdani wrote on social media.