A viewing party outside Madison Square Garden, where several thousand Knicks fans had gathered to watch Game 2 of the N.B.A. finals, erupted into chaos on Friday night after the Knicks won. Revelers scaled light poles and food carts, blocked traffic and, in one case, punched a police officer in the face, according to the authorities.
The New York Police Department said it took a total of 26 people into custody as the party escalated, arresting 17 people and releasing another nine with court summonses for disorderly conduct. Several people resisted arrest or otherwise refused to comply with police orders, the department said.
And one person, who has not been publicly identified, punched a 23-year-old female police officer in the face after jumping a barrier into a blocked-off area. The same person later bit a different officer, a police union leader said in a statement.
The watch party, for the Knicks’ second game in its best-of-seven championship series against the San Antonio Spurs, drew about 6,500 people to the plaza outside the Garden and thousands more to the arena itself, where the Knicks were hosting a ticketed event inside.
It was the second time this week that a party outside the Garden had grown unruly. The city had previously banned the viewing events, then reversed the ban despite concerns from the police department and its commissioner, Jessica Tisch.
New York City has been overcome by a contagious, electric sense of hometown pride since the Knicks made the finals this season for the first time in 27 years, and some fans’ passion has escalated into disorder.
The watch parties outside the Garden, which have been a steady source of joy and chaos, were canceled last month after a series of crowds swarmed the area outside the arena, resulting in multiple arrests. Since the parties’ reinstatement, the police have taken additional security measures, erecting designated viewing pens along the plaza on 33rd Street and blocking off pedestrian traffic on parts of Seventh Avenue.
But on Friday, after the Knicks secured their 13th consecutive win in a historic playoff season, the scene grew unruly once again, reviving questions about the safety and sustainability of the outdoor watch parties.
Now, as the Knicks head home with two victories and a chance to take the championship title in just two more games, the fervor outside the Garden could well intensify. And adding to the chaos, both President Trump and Mayor Zohran Mamdani have said they plan to attend Game 3 of the finals on Monday.
It remained unclear on Saturday if the city would allow a watch party for that game or any future games. Sam Raskin, a spokesman for Mr. Mamdani, said future permitting plans for watch parties would be decided on a case-by-case basis in coordination with the Police Department.
“It is not a matter of if they will happen, but where,” he said in a statement.
The police have been wary of the watch parties outside the Garden, a relatively new tradition among Knicks fans. But Mr. Mamdani, a devoted Knicks fan himself and an advocate of the city’s sports culture, has been supportive of the celebrations, allowing permits for the first two games of the finals.
In a statement after the parties’ reinstatement, Mr. Raskin said the administration was “proud to support these efforts and give New Yorkers opportunities to come together and celebrate this historic Knicks run.”
That support has become a source of unanticipated tension between Mr. Mamdani and Ms. Tisch, the police commissioner, who has cautioned against disorder as the city hosts a slate of major sporting events this summer. It has laid bare a certain dissonance between the two — a young mayor tapped into the city’s zeitgeist and a police force unsettled by the resulting damage.
During an unrelated news conference on Friday afternoon, Ms. Tisch said that the mayor “wants people to be able to celebrate and enjoy this moment in New York City.” But as she announced plans for security measures, she issued a stern warning to fans who planned to watch.
“Let me be very clear: We will have no tolerance for violence, particularly violence against police officers,” she said. “Do not be the one who ruins it going forward for everyone else.”
But on Wednesday, according to videos, photos and accounts from the police, people climbed lampposts and scaled ambulances, causing thousands of dollars in damage. The police took eight people into custody, including one person who was charged with punching a police chief in the face. One woman’s hair briefly caught fire, the police said, and she went to the hospital with severe burns on her hands, arms and face.
Still, on Friday morning, hours before the tipoff for Game 2, Mr. Mamdani announced in an interview with 1010 Wins, a local radio station, that the city had approved a party outside the Garden that night, and in two other locations.
That night, the police deployed more than 1,000 officers to the parties at Madison Square Garden. Ms. Tisch said they would close the west side of Seventh Avenue from 31st to 33rd Streets to pedestrians during the game and instructed viewers to stay within the designated viewing pens.
But by nightfall, ebullient celebrations had turned rowdy. Some people sold counterfeit merchandise; one was carrying a loaded gun, the police said.
Officers responded in turn, taking them and dozens more into custody.
Jonah E. Bromwich and Nate Schweber contributed reporting.
Maia Coleman is a reporter for The Times covering the New York Police Department and criminal justice in the New York area.
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