‘Thank God for the Knicks’: New Yorkers abuzz after historic Game 4 comeback

Knicks fans celebrate after Game 4 of the NBA finals in New York City, New York, on 10 June. Photograph: Olga Fedorova/EPA View image in fullscreen Knicks fans celebrate after Game 4 of the NBA finals in New York City, New York, on 10 June. Photograph: Olga Fedorova/EPA ‘Thank God for the Knicks’: New Yorkers abuzz after historic Game 4 comeback Largest comeback in NBA finals history galvanizes city and inspires morning-after chants of: ‘Knicks in five!’ New Yorkers woke up on Thursday morning – those who had even slept in the city that never sleeps – still jubilant after the Knicks men’s basketball team had made history the night before. The team staged the largest comeback in NBA finals history to overcome the San Antonio Spurs in the dying seconds of the fourth game of the finals – and put themselves 3-1 up and within one game of a rare championship win. The Big Apple is buzzing to its core. There was dancing, singing and chanting into the wee hours in the streets in parts of all five city boroughs but especially around midtown Manhattan. There, the New York Knickerbockers, to give the team its full name, had overcome a whopping 29-point lead by the Spurs at Madison Square Garden to turn dismay into delirium for home-town fans. The Empire State Building glowed as it was lit up in the team’s orange-and-blue colors. Early the next morning, bleary-eyed commuters rushed to work, double coffees in hand after a late night, and pedestrians criss-crossing sidewalks and busy junctions had a spring in their step. View image in fullscreen A Game 4 watch party in Central Park. Photograph: Heather Khalifa/AP “Oh, man, I’m feeling fantastic,” 53-year-old Kiba Bones said in midtown Manhattan early on Thursday as he paused to talk for a few seconds. “It was epic, it was history made. Thank God for the Knicks.” Bones, who was born and raised in the Bronx but now lives in Queens, said he watched the game at home. “Knicks in five,” he said, adding that the “last time we won was when I was born”. Bones was referring to the fact that, if the Knicks win the fifth game this Saturday out of the seven potential games in the finals, they will be national basketball champions for the first time since way back in 1973. Despite an absolute crowd frenzy outside “the garden” arena as Wednesday night turned into Thursday, by the time the morning sun and humidity were starting to steam up Manhattan in an early summer heat bump, the streets had been cleaned and crews were clearing safety barricades. Among the morning rush was a sea of orange and blue. Dozens of commuters were sporting Knicks caps and jerseys. Strangers wearing orange and blue caught each other’s eyes and nodded to each other knowingly. View image in fullscreen Fans gather outside a restaurant in Brooklyn to watch a screening of Game 4. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters “Let’s go, Knicks!” one man shouted across Seventh Avenue. The call was answered instantly by another with: “Knicks in five!” Inside the ar