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NEW YORK (AP) — In the final moments before the Knicks ended their 53-year NBA championship drought, Yolanda Matos found herself hosting a scrum of anxious New Yorkers on the sidewalk outside her Brooklyn home.
Heads lowered in quiet prayer. Boxes of pizza passed from people in jerseys to people in suits. And Matos — a retired correctional officer with a strictly enforced policy against premature celebration — waited until the final buzzer before leading the shrieking, weeping, chest-thumping crowd through the frenzied streets.
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“The camaraderie and craziness is something I’ve never seen in my whole life,” Matos marveled. “These Knicks really got everyone outside.”
The team’s victory Saturday night over the San Antonio Spurs saw moments of mayhem, with dozens of arrests and property damage mostly clustered around Madison Square Garden.
But scenes like the one on Matos’ block were far more common: neighbors and strangers of every age and background, clustered around a TV or projector as their collective stress gave way to an unusual moment of citywide euphoria.
Impromptu dance parties raged until dawn — then continued Sunday, as delirious New Yorkers flocked to the Puerto Rican Day parade, also attended by multiple Knicks players, including Brooklyn native Jose Alvarado.
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Knicks fan himself who has popped up at watch parties around the city, announced the team would be honored Thursday by a ticker-tape parade.
By Sunday night, many New Yorkers were struggling to find a historical comparison to what they were experiencing.
“I was there for the Giants’ Super Bowls, the Yankees dynasty, the Mets in ’86, which was really special. None of that comes even close to this,” said Marlon Rice, a 51-year-old community advocate. “The entire city is on tilt because of the Knicks. I just hope this stays and we can enjoy an entire summer off this vibe.”
That joy had been building for weeks, as the Knicks embarked on a historic playoff run marked by one stunning comeback after another. For fans long accustomed to last-minute heartbreak, processing this…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knicks-long-awaited-championship-brings-163253240.html
Author : JAKE OFFENHARTZ
Publish date : 2026-06-15 16:32:00
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