New York City – The streets outside Madison Square Garden became a sea of blue and orange Friday night as thousands of New York Knicks fans poured onto Seventh Avenue, celebrating a historic 119-81 Game 6 victory over the Boston Celtics. The blowout win, the largest playoff margin in franchise history, propelled the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000, ending a 25-year drought and igniting a party that shut down Midtown Manhattan. Fans climbed light poles, chanted “Let’s Go Knicks!” and danced under an Empire State Building lit up in team colors, marking a moment many had waited decades to see.

The Knicks dominated from the second quarter, with Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby each dropping 23 points, Karl-Anthony Towns adding a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double, and Josh Hart delivering a triple-double despite a swollen eye from a Game 5 elbow. The team’s defensive intensity and balanced scoring overwhelmed a shorthanded Celtics squad missing star Jayson Tatum, who sat out with a torn Achilles. “We were disgusted watching the Game 5 film,” Hart said postgame, his voice hoarse. “Tonight, we played our game—together, tough, for 48 minutes.” The crowd, packed with celebrities like Timothée Chalamet, Spike Lee, and Bad Bunny, fed off the team’s energy, turning the Garden into a cauldron of noise.

For fans, the win was more than a game—it was redemption after years of heartbreak. The Knicks have cycled through 11 head coaches since 2000, endured playoff flops, and weathered the brief frenzy of “Linsanity.” Many in the crowd, as reports noted, weren’t born the last time the Knicks reached this stage. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this,” said Ana Ballom, a Bronx native who drove 28 hours from Dallas to join the block party outside MSG. “This team’s got that old-school New York swagger, like Ewing and Starks. Jalen’s got us believing again.” The free watch party at Plaza 33, with giant screens and appearances by Knicks legends like Latrell Sprewell, started the night’s fever pitch hours before tipoff.

The celebration wasn’t just about the score. It was a middle finger to doubters who picked the defending champion Celtics to cruise. Boston’s Jaylen Brown, who called the loss “like death,” couldn’t rally his team past New York’s onslaught. Fans let Boston hear it, with chants of “F U Boston!” echoing down Seventh Avenue, per USA Today. Social media captured the chaos: one social media post showed a fan scaling a street sign, captioned, “Knicks fans partying like it’s 1999!”

The Knicks’ path hasn’t been easy. Last year’s playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers in seven games still stings, and phrases like “25-point fourth quarter” and “Spike Lee sit down” stir painful memories of past clashes with Indiana. Now, the Pacers await again in the Eastern Conference Finals, starting Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on TNT. “We’ve got eight wins, need 16 for the ring,” coach Tom Thibodeau said, already looking ahead. “Indiana’s tough. No carryover from this game—everyone’s a new fight.” The Pacers, who dispatched the top-seeded Cavaliers in five games, pose a fresh challenge, especially after last year’s series win over New York.

The city’s buzzing with what this means. A championship hasn’t come to MSG since 1973, and fans like Brian Siaw, who watched from the block party, feel the weight of history. “It’s not just a game—it’s New York,” he said. “We’re loud, we’re proud, and we’re not done.” The economic boost is real, too—bars and restaurants near MSG reported record nights, and ticket prices for Game 1 against Indiana are already soaring, with courtside seats on StubHub starting at $25,000. But the emotional payoff is bigger. As one X user put it, “This is for every Knicks fan who stuck through the dark years.”

What’s next? The Knicks, favored by 3.5 points for Game 1 per DraftKings, need to carry this momentum. OG Anunoby’s inconsistency—29, 20, and 23 points in wins but just 13 in the two losses—will be key against Indiana’s fast-paced attack. Fans are ready for more street parties, but the NYPD, which managed Friday’s chaos with a heavy presence, is bracing for bigger crowds. Win or lose, this Knicks run has rekindled a fire in New York. As the team heads into Wednesday’s battle, the city’s already dreaming of a Larry O’Brien trophy—and another night to shut down Seventh Avenue.