NYPD lifts – Hours after a ban had kept Knicks watch parties away from Madison Square Garden, the NYPD has lifted it for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, allowing fans to gather in Plaza 33 on Wednesday night.
By the time Wednesday night tips off, the streets outside Madison Square Garden look set to look a lot more like Knicks territory than they did during the run to the Finals.
The NYPD has reportedly lifted its ban on Knicks watch parties outside MSG ahead of the NBA Finals, clearing the way for fans to gather in Plaza 33 to watch Game 1.
New York is back in the Finals for the first time in nearly three decades, with Mike Brown’s team chasing a first championship since 1973. The Knicks will face Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in what is set to be a rerun of their showdown in 1999.
The timing of the change matters. The Knicks’ sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals had already come with a hard stop: as SNY reports. the NYPD previously banned watch parties outside MSG because fans were seen as too rowdy. Now, with a permit secured for Plaza 33, the ban has been lifted for Game 1 only.
It remains unclear whether the same permission will extend to Game 2 and beyond. The current permit is understood to cover Wednesday night’s opener in San Antonio.
For Knicks players. the larger message has been to keep the focus on the task in front of them. even as the outside world gets louder. Josh Hart. a forward for the Knicks. said: “I think we’re just locked in and focused on the task at hand… Then we can look back when everything is all said and done and really embrace this process and this run. It’s an honor, but can’t focus too much on the outside world and the run so far.”.
New York’s stage is historic in its own way. The Knicks are appearing in the title series for the ninth time, and it is their eighth Game 1 on the road. They have not played in the Finals since losing to the Spurs in 1999.
For San Antonio, it is also a familiar script. The Spurs are in their seventh title series, and their sixth Game 1 at home. They have not returned to the Finals since beating the Miami Heat in 2014.
The Knicks arrive with a forceful run that numbers fans can’t ignore. Coming into this series, they are on a streak of 11 straight wins, by a combined 262 points—described as the most lopsided 11-game run in NBA history, whether in the regular season or playoffs.
The Spurs counter with a different kind of consistency. Before Game 1 on Wednesday night, San Antonio has never lost a Finals opener, going 6-0 in Game 1s when they make it to the title round.
Between the sudden green light in Plaza 33 and a matchup loaded with history, one thing is clear: the championship pursuit is still about 48 minutes at a time, but the city’s mood is finally being allowed to spill into the night.
NYPD Knicks NBA Finals Madison Square Garden Plaza 33 Josh Hart Mike Brown San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama Game 1