Mayhem mars euphoria as New York City celebrates the Knicks’ first championship in 53 years

Mayhem mars euphoria as New York City celebrates the Knicks’ first championship in 53 years 0 seconds of 38 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Delirious celebrations in New York as Knicks win first NBA championship in 53 years 00:56 00:00 00:38 00:38 More Videos 00:56 Delirious celebrations in New York as Knicks win first NBA championship in 53 years 01:07 New York City Mayor Mamdani celebrates Knicks win 01:16 New York fans celebrate as Knicks complete record rally, take 3-1 NBA Finals lead 00:35 Trump is attending NBA Finals Game 3 between Knicks and Spurs 00:09 John McEnroe optimistic about Knicks in NBA Finals 00:50 Fans celebrate in Sarajevo as Bosnia draws in first World Cup match 01:19 Knicks fans confident after Game three NBA Finals loss 01:04 'Soccer fan through and through': 92-year-old woman celebrates Mexico's win Close 1 of 8 | Outside Madison Square Garden, a crowd watching on a big screen roared as the Knicks rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the Spurs in San Antonio in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Soon after, rowdy fans were clashing with police, smashing windshields, scaling scaffolding, light poles and a statue, climbing into and atop school buses in Times Square and trying to hitch a ride on a moving fire truck. Later, one of the buses was engulfed in flames. More Videos 0 seconds of 56 secondsVolume 90% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Mayhem mars euphoria as New York City celebrates the Knicks' first championship in 53 years 00:38 Subtitle Settings OffEnglish(US)_v Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Edge Color Black Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25% 200%175%150%125%100%75%50% ArialCourierGeorgiaImpactLucida ConsoleTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdana NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop Shadow WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% 00:00 00:56 00:56 More Videos Close 2 of 8 | The Knicks rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the Spurs in San Antonio in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, turning pensive crowds euphoric at watch parties outside the team’s Madison Square Garden arena and in parks and streets across the city. More Videos 0 seconds of 1 minute, 7 secondsVolume 90% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Delirious celebrations in New York as Knicks win first NBA championship in 53 years 00:56 Subtitle Settings OffEnglish(US)_v Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Edge Color Black Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25% 200%175%150%125%100%75%50% ArialCourierGeorgiaImpactLucida ConsoleTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdana NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop Shadow WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% Auto1080p1080p720p540p360p270p180p 00:00 01:07 01:07 More Videos Close 3 of 8 | New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrated the Knicks win in a bar on Manhattan’s Canal Street on Saturday night. For the first time in 53 years, New York rules the NBA, with Jalen Brunson scoring 45 points, including 13 straight for New York in the fourth quarter. 4 of 8 | New York Knicks fans celebrate their victory after Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) 5 of 8 | New York Knicks fans celebrate their victory after Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) 6 of 8 | New York Knicks fans celebrate their victory after Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) 7 of 8 | New York City police officers join fans and celebrate the Knicks victory after a watch party for Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah) 8 of 8 | New York Knicks fans celebrate their victory as they watch Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) By MICHAEL R. SISAK and SHELBY LUM Updated 3:41 PM MESZ, June 14, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit NEW YORK (AP) — It was bedlam on Broadway as the New York Knicks won their first NBA championship in 53 years on Saturday night, with exuberant celebrations marred by mayhem and violence, including a shooting in Times Square. Outside Madison Square Garden, a crowd watching on a big screen roared as the Knicks rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the Spurs in San Antonio in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Soon after, tens of thousands of people filled the streets and the rowdiest among them were clashing with police, smashing windshields, scaling scaffolding, light poles and a statue, climbing into and atop school buses in Times Square and trying to hitch a ride on a moving fire truck. Around 2 a.m., a 17-year-old was shot near 42nd Street and Broadway, police said. Bystander video captured the sound of at least seven shots and showed people crouching and running for cover. Police took the victim to the hospital because an ambulance could not get through the crowds, police said. A gun was recovered and three people were taken into custody. Four people were stabbed or slashed and one of the school buses, which was being used for World Cup transportation, was lit on fire and engulfed in flames, police said. Other buses and five police cars were also damaged, police said. After 53 years, the New York Knicks are NBA champions. And the wait sure seemed worth it 5 MIN READ Jalen Brunson bet on himself and bet on the Knicks. A championship and a Finals MVP was his reward 4 MIN READ The Comeback Knicks are the Champion Knicks. Brunson scores 45, and New York tops Spurs for title 3 MIN READ 30 In all, 63 people were arrested, with charges including assault on a police officer, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. 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 news conference. “Please be safe. Don’t get hurt, don’t hurt anybody.” 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.” MICHAEL R. SISAK Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement, courts and prisons. He is based in New York. twitter mailto SHELBY LUM Lum is an Associated Press video journalist based in New York. She is on the AP’s Health and Science team. instagram mailto