A watch party for New York Knicks fans to see Game 3 of the NBA Finals descended into chaos Monday evening as brawling supporters clashed with cops.
Police used pepper spray to break up the melee when violence spilled out into the streets of Midtown Manhattan just outside Bryant Park. Fights broke out between fans, with one man in Knicks colors seen hitting another a bus stop sign in front of a line of officers.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani had organized the party at short notice after President Donald Trump’s decision to attend the game in person meant a planned event outside Madison Square Garden could not go ahead for security reasons.
Trump’s attendance also meant fans massing outside the Garden hours before tip-off, where they faced heavy screening checks, a no-bag policy, and a line of fences and police officers, which walled off the surrounding area for several blocks.
Approximately 5,000 free tickets were made available at Bryant Park to accommodate Knicks supporters but the unrest appears to have started because more people wanted to get in, according to The New York Post, rather than because of frustration over the result.
The Knicks narrowly lost to the San Antonio Spurs 111-115, leaving the seven game series poised on a knife edge.
One video of the fighting showed fans swinging punches, a man wielding a branch torn from a tree and a person dressed as a superhero in orange and blue Knicks colors attempting to break it up.
Another showed fans clashing outside of a branch of Citibank, with one man wearing a Karl-Anthony Towns replica jersey using a bus stop sign as a weapon to bash opponents on the head before order could be restored by the NYPD.
The Post reports seeing other people leaping onto parked cars, chanting “We want Wemby!” in reference to Spurs star Victor Wembanyama and chasing a San Antonio fan down the street.
One person was subsequently arrested for assaulting a policeman and at least six more were arrested for disorderly conduct.
Inside the stadium, the president attended with his granddaughter Kai Trump and was booed by the crowd when he appeared on the jumbotron during the national anthem, sung by Broadway star Avery Wilson.
Trump took in the opening ceremonies from a private box with a smirk and saluted, despite the flag code indicating that he should simply have placed his hand on his heart.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino were also present as part of the president’s entourage.
Trump was later mocked for appearing to fall asleep during the game and went on to deny having been booed, insisting the reaction of supporters had been “very enthusiastic.”
Other famous faces in attendance at Monday’s game included movie director Spike Lee, actors Timothee Chalamet and Ben Stiller, New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter, comedian Tracy Morgan, Daily Show host Jon Stewart, comedy great Larry David and rapper Jay-Z.
