Multiple arrests made at Knicks watch party outside MSG after NBA Finals Game 2, NYPD says

Multiple people were arrested outside Madison Square Garden during the Knicks watch party for Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Friday, the New York Police Department said.

The NYPD said Saturday that some of the rowdiest fans in the crowd of about 6,500 started climbing on light poles, food carts and subway entrances after the Knicks took a 2-0 series lead against the Spurs in San Antonio. 

The crowd around the Garden also blocked traffic along Seventh and Eighth Avenue from 31st to 35th Street and multiple people refused to comply with police orders, the NYPD said. 

One woman was charged with assault after she allegedly struck an officer in the face and jumped over a barrier. The officer was punched and needed stitches, according to the Police Benevolent Association. The woman bit another officer during her arrest, the union added. 

Others were arrested for allegedly selling counterfeit merchandise, including one person who had a loaded firearm, the NYPD said.

Twenty-six individuals were taken into custody in all, police said. Seventeen of them were arrested and charged, and nine were released with court summonses for disorderly conduct.

With the NBA Finals now shifting to New York, officials were planning for no watch parties outside MSG for Game 3 on Monday due to heightened security for President Trump, who is expected to be at the game.

Police sources, however, told CBS News New York the NYPD was still consulting with the Secret Service about whether to permit an outdoor watch party and that the decision was up in the air. 

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is also expected to attend Game 3. He said he'll be sitting in "a very different section" from the president.

The Knicks will host Game 4 on Wednesday and, if necessary, the series will go back to San Antonio for Game 5 on Saturday.