New York has seen championship celebrations spill into the streets before. For generations, title runs have turned entire neighborhoods into block parties, with fans climbing light poles, flooding avenues and celebrating long into the night. But every so often, hidden beneath the confetti and chants, another story emerges, one involving the people who never came to celebrate in the first place.

That reality played out outside Madison Square Garden last week when thousands of Knicks fans poured into Manhattan after one of the most dramatic wins in franchise history. While most celebrated peacefully, one New York City cab driver’s night took a very different turn.

After Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and the Knicks erased a 29-point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, fans flooded the streets around Madison Square Garden in celebration. Near Seventh Avenue and West 36th Street, however, 59-year-old taxi driver Noureddine Bitat found himself at the center of a violent crowd that left him injured, traumatized and unable to return to work.

Bitat told CBS News through a translator, “Someone opened the car and grabbed me out of the car by my neck. Some others were punching me on the head. I saw them opening the doors, the four doors, even the trunk. They were smashing, shattering the windshield, and I was really scared.”

According to reports, fans climbed onto Bitat’s cab, smashed the windshield, dented the vehicle and dragged him from the taxi. Through translators speaking to ABC7 New York, colleagues said Bitat suffered dizzy spells, back pain and broken glasses following the attack. One suspect, identified as 21-year-old Saul Vargas of Florida, later turned himself in, while authorities continued searching for additional individuals seen in videos from the scene.

The story eventually reached rapper French Montana, whose father worked as a New York City cab driver after immigrating from Morocco. Moved by Bitat’s situation, Montana partnered with content creator Zachery Dereniowski and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance to launch a fundraising effort.

The campaign quickly gained traction, attracting more than 2,000 donors. Montana later presented Bitat with a $75,000 check and pledged to help cover at least six months of living expenses while he searched for a path forward.

Speaking on CBS Mornings, Montana explained why the story resonated with him. “I just saw a man trying to feed his family,” the rapper said. He added that when he asked Bitat whether he followed the Knicks, the driver replied, “I don’t even know what the Knicks is.” Montana continued, “He was just happen to be working around the place… He doesn’t deserve it.”

Bitat’s story struck a chord partly because of his background. The 59-year-old Algerian immigrant previously worked as an Arabic-language elementary school teacher and supports family members back home. According to the fundraiser, he is a husband and father of three whose taxi was destroyed during the incident, leaving him without his primary source of income and uncertain about returning to the profession.

“These are the people that make the world go around. They don’t bother nobody. They’re out there working, minding their business,” French Montana said. “Shout out to all the fans and everybody out there that got a heart, that donated, and made sure that he was able to make a living and change his life.”

The championship celebration that spiraled beyond basketball

The attack on Bitat did not occur in isolation. As New York celebrated its first NBA championship since 1973, authorities dealt with repeated incidents of vandalism and disorder throughout the Finals run. According to reports, more than 10 police officers were injured during the series, while dozens of arrests were made across multiple nights of celebration.

Following the championship-clinching Game 5 victory, police reported at least 63 arrests, multiple injuries and several acts of property damage across the city. Authorities also responded to a shooting, while fires broke out in parts of Manhattan and several buses and police vehicles were damaged. The scenes mirrored incidents seen after other major sports championships, including celebrations following the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2020 title run.

While most Knicks fans celebrated responsibly, Bitat became one of the night’s most visible victims. Yet what began with a shattered taxi and a terrified driver ended with thousands of strangers rallying behind a man who had simply shown up for work on the wrong night.