The police already had to deal with Jersey burning, a fan climbing a billboard, and multiple arrests for disorderly conduct. All this is transpiring as the New York Knicks are on their path to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. Tonight, Mike Brown’s team sparked a 22-point comeback in the final quarter, making it the NBA’s greatest postseason comeback. Naturally, the supporters flooded the NYC streets and were overly enthusiastic, so law enforcement was extra vigilant.

As the New York Knicks progress deep into the 2026 NBA Postseason, the traditional block parties on Seventh Avenue have transformed into a highly contested battleground between ecstatic sports culture and aggressive law enforcement tactics. On Tuesday night, we saw a prime example of this escalating friction. The Instagram page NewYorkers, with 1.2 million followers, was conducting regular post-game fan interviews. The first one said, “And I want SGA. And Mikal Bridges, shout out to you, five picks for you right now, hell yeah!” The person behind him was even more enthusiastic and loud.

“I would die for the Knicks, boy! We’re taking the finals this year, let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!” And soon after, crowd-interviewers were swarmed by uniform officers. Officers were seen physically intervening, covering the lenses, and snatching the production camera away from the creators mid-broadcast while the crowd aggressively chanted “Let’s go Knicks!” in the background. A probable reason could be “inciting a riot” charges, because this transpired last year.

Remember, the New York Knicks were in the Conference Finals last year, too. In April 2025, a viral video captured a tense NYPD intervention involving a prominent New York street DJ. To set the vibe of the win, “Mo Bamba” by Sheck Wes had hundreds of fans jumping. But within seconds, a squad of officers physically cut through the crowd and abruptly snatched the speaker equipment.

The charge again wasn’t a minor noise violation or a routine citation. The fan was explicitly threatened with charges of “inciting a riot”. One could say the police are being overly protective. During the run that the Knicks have actually been on, the streets of New York have seen every kind of activity that fans aren’t supposed to do.

New York Knicks fans take over the streets

In the first round series against the Atlanta Hawks, the ‘F— Trae Young’ chants were loud. But one person took it further by burning the jersey of the former Hawks guard. That video went viral last month, and the officers had to step in. He quickly picked up the jersey and threw it away from the crowd to de-escalate the hostile fan gathering.

Just last week, one overly enthusiastic fan scaled a massive commercial billboard structure overhanging Seventh Avenue to lead chants. NYPD emergency units wasted no time climbing the infrastructure, physically tackling the individual, and bringing him down. Even tonight, there were fights happening on the streets of New York after the Game 1 win over the Cavaliers.

How can we forget when the crowd mobbed and nearly trampled franchise legend J.R. Smith as he was celebrating following the New York Knicks’ Game 1 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. One situation leads to another when thousands of supporters are out on the street. So sometimes shutting it down is the best way to contain the situation.