The New York Knicks’ title after 53 years looked improbable at times. Their grit was on display with 3 comebacks of 20+ points, including Game 4 of the Finals, when they erased a 29-point deficit. Even in Game 5, Jalen Brunson and co faced a 14-point deficit. But an angel was looking out, as a fan turned her grief into an emotional message.

Beatrice Reilly-Jordon, a Staten Island widow and devoted Knicks fan, left a bit of her late husband’s ashes on an empty seat at Madison Square Garden. She and her family firmly believe this would surely help the Knicks en route to the championship.

“At the game, I brought my husband’s ashes with me,” she told SILive. “And I was in section 224, and I sprinkled my husband, and I said, ‘Dave, you’re here with me.’ He’s right on top of them — an angel on their shoulders — and they’re going to do it this year,” she said.

Dave Jordon, a US Army veteran, unfortunately passed away in 2022 after a battle with cancer. It was three months before family could celebrate his 69th birthday. For some time, Beatrice Reilly-Jordon couldn’t watch the games as the grief was overpowering. But she attended a recent NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden.

“She sprinkled a little on an empty seat next to her at Madison Square Garden recently, so he could enjoy the game with her, watching from heaven,” the couple’s daughter Domonique told The Post. “He loved the Knicks so much and so does she. Like my mom says, he’s the angel on their shoulders.”

Even when watching the games at home, Reilly-Jordon would leaves a special chair open for Dave.

“There’s my chair, because you know, you always need a chair when a person’s not here,” she told the Post. “The empty seat is a painful reminder of loss, but also a symbol of a love story death could not erase. I’m sorry my husband won’t be here, but he’s still here. He’s in the Garden right now. And he’s going to watch it with us.”

They were together for more than 34 years before Dave passed away on Dec. 18, 2022. They loved the Knicks for decades, but since her husband’s death, she never went to MSG.

Family members encouraged the love for the Knicks

The couple has three daughters and, more importantly, had the support of an extended family of siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They all came in clutch as they refused to let her give up something that had meant so much to both her and Dave.

“My godbrothers said, ‘No, you have to. You know Dave wants you to go see the Knicks. You can’t stop doing what you normally do,” she said.

The family bought her a ticket, and she was at MSG during the 2026 Finals. The Garden served countless memories for the couple from nearly 40 years ago as Jordon asked Beatrice if she would accompany him to the Knicks game. That stayed true even in 2026, as Knicks championship lore will now have a chapter of the love story of Beatrice and Dave.