To the uninitiated, it’s a simple phrase on a police scanner tracking account: ‘Manhattan | West 34th St and 7th Ave. PD requesting additional units for crowd control. Level 4 Mobilization called.’
Putting it into terms for the non-police among us, a stretch of Seventh Avenue in midtown Manhattan turned into a scene of chaotic jubilation as thousands of New York Knicks fans came streaming out of Madison Square Garden to celebrate their victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday night.
Exuberant fans ran out into the streets in a mob scene as the Knicks secured the franchise’s first Eastern Conference Finals berth in 25 years after eliminating Boston with a 119-81 victory in Game 6 of the conference semifinals.
Video uploaded to ESPN New York showed what must have been hundreds – if not thousands – of fans clad in blue-and-orange running down the middle of the road in a joyful chorus.
Other images showed fans climbing atop light poles, advertisements, and other structures – all while the Empire State Building was lit up in Knicks colors behind them.
Even celebrities leaving the arena joined in on the fun. Knicks superfan Spike Lee was seen poking his head out of the sunroof of an SUV to join those celebrating on the Eighth Avenue side of the Garden.
Seventh Avenue outside Madison Square Garden was a mob scene of joyful Knicks fans
Fans climbed signs and light poles to celebrate the Knicks’ first conference final in 25 years
Knicks fan Spike Lee was seen on the opposite side of the Garden with his head out of an SUV
With Timothee Chalamet, Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller, and Bad Bunny watching on, the Knicks ensured that elimination was a surefire thing.
It’s the largest playoff win in franchise history that puts the Knicks back in the conference finals for the first time since 2000. They’ll play the same team they faced that series, the Indiana Pacers.
Without superstar Jayson Tatum, whose season ended with a torn Achilles suffered in Game 4, the Celtics struggled – shooting 36 percent in the loss.
Meanwhile, the Knicks’ core showed out – with Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby leading the way with 23 points.
From the moment that Tatum’s season ended, this result was coming.
Sure, the Celtics put up a brave effort in Game 5 in the face of elimination. Derrick White had 34 points, Jaylen Brown dropped a double-double, and the Celtics won by 25 in front of their fans at TD Garden to show they could be resilient without Tatum.
But no one, not even the most jaded Celtics fan, could expect that effort to last long – and certainly not long enough to motivate them to a conference final.
Yet, there was still shock. Shock at how flat the Celtics looked. Shock at how quickly this game became lopsided.
Rapper Bad Bunny (L) and actor Timothee Chalamet (R) celebrate the Knicks victory Friday
Actor Ben Stiller watched on as the Knicks eliminated the Boston Celtics in Game 6
Musician Lenny Kravitz (L) and filmmaker and Knicks superfan Spike Lee (R) celebrate
Rapper Ice Spice (L) and New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (R) watch courtside
After leading Boston in the game prior, White only put up eight points, one rebound, and two assists while shooting a poor 3-for-11.
Brown led the team with 20 points, but shot 8-of-20 and fouled out of the game in the third quarter.
Aside from Brown, the only other Boston double-digits were Al Horford’s ten points and the eleven points Payton Pritchard had off the bench.
Boston was down by six points at the end of the first quarter, but then got ‘Fetty Wapped’ in the second – getting outscored 17-38.
So completely overwhelming was the Knicks’ second quarter, that it didn’t matter that Boston was within eight points in the third and three points in the fourth. After the second, the Celtics never looked capable of overcoming the mountain in front of them.
And so, the title defense ends. Questions will abound about what comes next for the Celtics. When can Tatum get healthy? What’s the future of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis? How much longer will the window stay open? No answers can be found on the floor of MSG.
What would be found is arguably the most complete team effort the Knicks have put forth all offseason.
After putting up 34 points in Game 5, Derrick White dropped a paltry eight points Friday
The depleted Celtics carried no momentum from their 25 point win at home in Game 5
Every Knicks starter hit double-digits. Anunoby (23 points, nine rebounds) and Brunson (23 points, six rebounds, six assists) led the way, but Karl-Anthony Towns’ double-double (21 points, 12 rebounds) and Mikal Bridges’ 22 point outing were more than enough to put New York over the top.
The bright lights of the Garden didn’t overwhelm. They set the stage for a dominant performance that could set up the Knicks reaching their first NBA Finals in this millennium.
All that lies ahead is an opponent that they haven’t beaten in the playoffs in their last three series meetings: the Pacers.
That includes last year, when the Pacers beat the Knicks in seven games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
