The Miracle on 33th St. of the Knicks unbelievable comeback and last-second victory is cause for celebration and the knuckleheads who rioted and fought with cops must be prosecuted. Security rules around the Garden for the remaining games of the Finals must remain under the aegis of the world experts: The NYPD, not Knicks owner Jim Dolan.
The boorish and criminal behavior of a few who went wild Wednesday night shouldn’t take away from what was for the vast majority of us a magical moment, where the team rallied from a huge hole and chipped away at the Spurs giant lead until the improbable and impossible victory was cemented with a perfect tip-in with just a second remaining on the clock.
If this Finals is won in five games or six games or seven games, or even if San Antonio manages to sweep the next three to claim the trophy (which won’t happen), Game 4 will go down at the greatest 48 minutes ever for the Knicks. While the first 24 minutes were a disaster, allowing San Antonio to score an astronomical 76 points under a blizzard of 3-pointers, the second half for those who stuck with it despite a 27-point deficit, was a slow and steady climb, with a can’t-be-believed finish.
When the buzzer rang, fans didn’t want to leave the arena, staying to cheer and exclaim. Yes, that game and that final shot really happened. The Knicks achieved the biggest comeback in the entire history of the Finals.
That’s how the game should be remembered, not for the rowdiness in the streets from people who use violence to express happiness. Yes to hugging and high-fiving a stranger; no to tearing down a lamppost and smashing a cop car.
Only 20,000 people can squeeze into the Garden, but far more New Yorkers want to gather in public to watch the games. We should have watch parties, but those must be kept safe. The big parties at Central Park and Brooklyn Bowl went without a hitch, which is a credit to what the NYPD does so well: crowd control.
Dolan cancelled another party outside the Garden Wednesday night because he didn’t like the 1,000-person cap and called City Hall and the NYPD “party poopers.” Well, the mayhem that exploded after the game showed that the cops were right.
As many as 10,000 people gravitated to areas north of the Garden. As the crowds grew, they became destructive, swarming into the streets which had not been closed to traffic. There were reckless acts such as climbing on moving and parked vehicles and vandalism like trashing a yellow cab. Illegal fireworks were being shot off, endangering everyone. Scaffolding and street poles were scaled. And when cops tried to restore order, they had bottles thrown at them.
There were 15 arrested and another 41 were given criminal court summonses. Charges ranged from assault on a cop to criminal possession of a knife to reckless endangerment, while 10 officers sustained injuries. That is a blot on New York. Preparations for tomorrow night, when the title is on the line with a Knicks victory in San Antonio, have to learn from the problems of Wednesday night.
The cops know what they are doing. They have lots of experience with huge crowds, from July 4 to New Year’s Eve. The goal is not to inhibit the joy, but to make it safe and secure for the thousands who want to express themselves (and the nonfans just going about their ways).
The Knicks were perfect on Wednesday. New Yorkers should emulate them as we join to celebrate their success.