Knicks fans celebrate throughout NYC after first title in 53 years - ESPN

NEW YORK — It was bedlam on Broadway as the Knicks won their first NBA championship in 53 years on Saturday night, with exuberant celebrations marred by mayhem and violence, including gunshots in Times Square.

Outside Madison Square Garden, a crowd watching on a big screen roared as the Knicks rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the Spurs in San Antonio in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Soon after, rowdy fans were clashing with police, smashing windshields, scaling scaffolding, light poles and a statue, climbing into and atop school buses in Times Square, and trying to hitch a ride on a moving fire truck. Later, one of the buses was engulfed in flames.

Around 2 a.m., gunshots were fired near 42nd Street and Broadway, police said. Bystander video captured the sound of at least seven shots and showed people crouching and running for cover. Preliminary reports indicated no one was injured, police said.

The NYPD said there were multiple arrests but wouldn't have a total until later on Sunday.

Knicks owner James Dolan, speaking in San Antonio after the game, urged fans to stay calm.

«We need to tell everybody in New York that we know that they're celebrating, we want them to have a great time,» said Dolan, interrupting guard Josh Hart's news conference. «Please be safe. Don't get hurt, don't hurt anybody.»

The city will officially celebrate the Knicks on Thursday with a parade and City Hall ceremony.

As the clock ticked to the final buzzer Saturday night, anxiety that had dominated the game's first three quarters gave way to euphoria. An orange-and-blue-tinted fever dream that started with the Knicks' first playoff game two months ago ended in the third title in their 80-year history.

Fireworks boomed over Brooklyn and Central