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NYPD lifts ban on Knicks watch parties outside MSG for Game 1 of NBA Finals after fans were too rowdy
By Ryan Morik
Published June 03, 2026
New York Knicks fans are about to party like it's 1999.
For the first time in 27 years, the Knicks are in the NBA Finals, but for a brief time, the New York Police Department placed a ban on watch parties outside Madison Square Garden because the Knicks faithful got way too rowdy.
Well, for the biggest Knicks game this millennium, the NYPD reversed course.
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Knicks fans celebrate winning the Eastern Conference championship against the Cleveland Cavaliers in New York City on May 25, 2026. The Knicks last reached the NBA Finals in 1999 and are seeking their first championship since 1973. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
The Knicks will host a watch party at Plaza 33 outside the arena for Game 1 on Wednesday night after Madison Square Garden applied for permits.
The San Antonio Spurs will host the first two games before MSG hosts Game 3 on Monday. Game 1 will also be shown live inside the arena, with tickets costing $10 and the proceeds going to the Garden of Dreams Foundation.
Six arrests were made outside MSG during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks took a 2-0 series lead just days after completing a 22-point comeback in the fourth quarter, which truly began the rowdiness.
Knicks fans celebrate their team's victory in the Eastern Conference championship against the Cleveland Cavaliers in New York City on May 25, 2026. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
Despite no watch party for the Knicks' clincher last week, fans still took to the streets to celebrate.
Videos poured out from Manhattan intersections, packed bars outside Madison Square Garden and booming "WE WANT WEMBY" chants outside MSG.
Fans carried brooms through Manhattan streets in anticipation of a Cavaliers sweep, climbed atop traffic lights while NYPD officers ordered them down and unleashed the kind of basketball pandemonium New York has waited decades to experience again.
Even Radio City Music Hall erupted with Knicks chants as the city collectively lost its mind last Monday night.
From booming "WE WANT WEMBY" chants outside Madison Square Garden to chaos spilling through Midtown intersections, New York City transformed into a massive street party after the Knicks clinched the Eastern Conference. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
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The Knicks are underdogs to the Spurs, who took down the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 on the road on Saturday.
New York is seeking its first title since 1973, in case you are wondering what the city might look like if it wins it all.
OutKick's Alejandro Avila contributed to this report.
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https://www.foxnews.com/sports/nypd-lifts-ban-knicks-watch-parties-outside-msg-game-1-nba-finals-fans-rowdy