Walking the streets of midtown Manhattan late Monday night, it was impossible to escape the cacophonous screams of Knicks fans cascading down the mostly-abandoned streets during the dregs of a holiday weekend. There it was on 43rd and 6th—"Let's go Knickssss!!"—and again below Times Square—"The fucking Knicks are in the FINALS!!!" In front of Madison Square Garden and on line for a dollar slice, fans triumphantly brought out brooms and yelled, "Fuck Trae Young!" and "Fuck Boston!" and "Fuck Embiid!" with the lowly Cavaliers barely notching as a speedbump on the Knicks's searing ride to the NBA finals.
As the final seconds of the Eastern Conference Finals ticked away in Cleveland, the NYPD lay in wait outside Radio City Music Hall, where 4,000 Knicks fans were watching Game 4.