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Securing a wildly expensive seat inside Madison Square Garden for a Knicks game may be impossible to get, but for many New Yorkers, the best seats in the house weren’t courtside — they were in the streets.
The Knicks’ historic return to the NBA Finals has sparked a level of civic excitement the city hasn’t experienced in decades, with official watch parties, impromptu public gatherings, and thousands of fans flooding the streets before and after Game 3, the franchise’s first Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999.
From Brooklyn to the West Village, on Monday night, excited, rowdy fans spilled out onto the sidewalks from packed bars.
Fans decked out in orange-and-blue jerseys crowded Bryant Park and Wollman Rink.
Others rented out private movie theaters to cheer on the team with family and friends. And thousands surrounded Madison Square Garden just to soak in the atmosphere.
Despite the Knicks’ disappointing loss against the San Antonio Spurs, the energy throughout NYC last night was electric.
“What makes this Knicks run so special is that there isn’t just one way to experience it,” Ashley Cohen, 40, told The Post.
“At 8pm, the TVs came out, and suddenly everyone was cheering together until the final buzzer. On the other end of the spectrum, you can be walking through the West Village, stop on a random corner where a game is playing through an open window, and before you know it, you’re cheering in unison with strangers for the rest of the night.”
Last night, Midtown sports bar, American Whiskey (247 W 30th St.), charged Knicks fans $20 to watch the game — and had an incredible turnout of 500-1,000 orange and blue devoted fans for Monday night’s game.
“The turnout has been nothing short of amazing,” owner Kevin Hooshangi told The Post. “At times, none of this seems real. The energy tonight and Wednesday is off the charts.”
“It’s been just as busy in the streets and on the sidewalks during the games,” Hooshangi said. “When the Knicks win, people rush out to be a part of the celebration on Seventh Avenue.”
Across the city, impromptu gatherings popped up wherever there was a TV or even a projector.
“It’s been just as busy in the streets and on the sidewalks during the games,” Hooshangi said. “When the Knicks win, people rush out to be a part of the celebration on Seventh Avenue.”
In Bed-Stuy, fans sprawled across the sidewalk outside the pizza spot, Saraghina, watching the game projected onto a building.
Buzzy SoHo restaurant, Croft Alley (210 6th Ave), transformed into an outdoor Knicks headquarters, where hopeful fans and downtown regulars gathered around a double-sided LED billboard truck broadcasting the game. With each playoff matchup, the crowds have grown, filling tables under the restaurant awning and spilling across the street. Some even brought their own blow-up furniture.
During Game 3, the Croft team handed out slices from Mama’s TOO! to hundreds of hungry fans, fueling the camaraderie that has become a hallmark of the Knicks’ playoff run.
“It was the most electric energy I’ve ever been a part of,” said owner Adam Rubin, who posted a story to his Instagram following game 2, showing the sea of fans sitting curbside on 6th Avenue, with the caption: “There’s no city better than NYC.”
After last night’s turnout, Croft is playing a heavy hand in turning the curbside watch party into a movement.
On the opposite side of Manhattan at Upper East Side’s Schmuck (97 1st Ave.), the rap music stops, and the TVs come out for tip-off, transforming the trendy cocktail destination into an impromptu Knicks watch party.
For some diehard fans, even a neighborhood bar wasn’t enough.