Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports
Just in case there was any doubt Madison Square Garden would bring the noise to start the Knicks’ playoff run, such curiosities evaporated before the end of the national anthem Friday.
Grammy winner Tori Kelly hardly made it through the first two lines of the Star Spangled Banner before her rendition became largely inaudible. Microphones and speakers can only amplify a voice so much when there are more than 19,000 people eagerly shouting through it, in hopes of fast-forwarding to the main event itself. After all, while it’s only been two years since the Knicks reached the playoffs, due to COVID restrictions, it’s been a full decade since they’ve been able to welcome a full home crowd in the postseason. And, as virtually everyone around here knows, in a few weeks, it will have been 50 years since the last time New York claimed an NBA title.
After more roars from the Garden crowd during the starting lineup introductions—cheers that sounded a lot like the deafening ones from the 1990s intros—action was ready to begin.
Or, perhaps because of the completely frantic crowd, it wasn’t. The young Cavaliers, making their first non-LeBron playoff appearance since 1998, certainly looked rattled. Caris LeVert missed a pair of free throws, while star guard Darius Garland—fresh off annihilating the Knicks a game earlier, with six triples—airballed a pair of jumpers en route to a miserable 4-for-21 outing. Cleveland turned the ball over eight times in the second, and uncorked six airballs on the night.
The throbbing pulse provided by the Garden crowd seemed to give the Knicks their share of jitters, too. Turnovers. Occasional airballs of their own. Back-to-back missed free throws. But fortunately for them, wing RJ Barrett—who’d struggled mightily with his shot to begin the series—helped thaw New York’s offense, hitting a few jumpers to not only settle the team’s nerves, but also further ignite the powder keg that was MSG. As such, the Knickerbockers started putting up points quickly, while the Cavs limped into the half with just 32 points.
Asked if the charged atmosphere seemed to overwhelm the young Cavs, Knicks center Mitchell Robinson said he wasn’t sure. “I don’t know—I’m not them,” he said, smiling. “But probably.”
It wasn’t just the crowd that twisted Cleveland into a jumbo pretzel. Robinson was highly active, blocking two shots and deterring several other would-be attempts around the rim. All-Star forward Julius Randle, not necessarily known for his defense, drew a big, noticeable cheer from fans early in the third period at one point for stonewalling Evan Mobley on a failed Cavs possession that resulted in a 24-second violation. It may not be the 1990s, and it’s rare to see blood in the Garden anymore, but make no mistake: New York fans still adore great defense.
Fittingly, the Knicks held their opponent to 79 points, marking the first time this season—regular season or postseason—that any NBA club has held a club beneath the 80-point mark. “The fans in the Garden were lively, and obviously did their part,” Cavs swingman Danny Green said. “Sometimes you get so excited within the game that you forget you have to settle down some. I don’t think it was nervousness, necessarily. I think it was excitement. Maybe we were a bit anxious. When you’re into the game like that, it can affect the way you shoot and play in it.”
Knicks fans had plenty of chances to loosen up. With the game starting an hour later than normal in New York, it left ample time for orange-and-blue-clad supporters to liquor up and stir into a frenzy. As opposed to figuring out when to cheer—something that can often be challenging to do in a game that is just 17-17 after one quarter of play—New Yorkers instead had to navigate when not to. They were chanting up a storm throughout the contest, even as Knicks’ players took free throws. (Randle missed one as fans couldn’t contain their outbursts.)
With prompting from the in-arena DJ, the group sang New York, New York by Frank Sinatra. They chanted when Garden favorite and third-year forward Obi Toppin subbed in. Once the blowout seemed safely in hand in the final quarter, they loudly chanted Der-rick Ro-se! Der-rick Ro-se! in hopes of seeing the former league MVP get rare playing time. (Coach Tom Thibodeau obliged, placing Rose in the game briefly, thrilling the Garden faithful.) The crowd then exploded once more when Rose threw a perfect lob that Toppin jammed home in the closing minutes.
With slightly under two minutes left in the game, and the Knicks still playing hard despite being up by 25, more than 19,000 fans were on their feet. It spoke to how rare an experience this has been for a proud, title-starved fanbase; one that was going to soak in every single moment.
In the immediate aftermath of victory, fans descended into stairwells of the legendary stadium, chanting an array of different things—legends, role guys, hated opponents—every few seconds.
STILL OUTSIDE 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/kCHc7Ql8h0
— x - KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) April 22, 2023
Knicks in Five! Knicks in Five!
Pat-rick Ew-ing! Pat-rick Ew-ing!
Jar-ed Jeff-ries! Ja-red Jeff-ries!
F— Trae Young! F— Trae Young! F— Trae Young!
It wasn’t merely within the bowels of the arena that fans took their celebration, either. Some audaciously climbed streetlights and street signs on the avenues dotting the stadium’s perimeter. Others took part in one-on-one games on a Hoopbus basket—yes, it’s literally a bus, with a basketball hoop from the front of the vehicle—alongside traffic on 8th Avenue.
Yes, the victory was just one win in a first-round series. But the atmosphere it created was a reminder of how much of a basketball city New York still is. It just requires having a good enough Knicks club—one that can make it to late April, May or June—to bring it out of the fans.
