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They all arrived at the Garden looking for a celebration — the type that could last all through the night and weekend — that hadn’t happened here since 2000.
The Knicks fans that showed up for the watch party chanted “Knicks in five” with the score tied at halftime, but in the moments after Game 5 ended and they spilled into the streets, “Knicks in six” served as the updated soundtrack for the New York City night.
The Knicks had a chance to eliminate the Celtics and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years. Boston didn’t have superstar Jayson Tatum after he tore his Achilles. But now, after an ugly 127-102 loss that didn’t even feel that close by the end of it, the Knicks gave the defending champs some life. And they’re about to find out how dangerous that might be.
For at least the first half, the watch party — diehards occupied many of the sections as the TNT broadcast played on the jumbotron with in-game contests and dancing on the court during commercial breaks — reflected a scaled-down version of a home playoff game. They roared, louder and louder each time, when Mitchell Robinson made his free throws and the Celtics’ hack-a-Mitch strategy backfired. There was a groan when Josh Hart took a Luke Kornet elbow to the eye and was bloodied, and then an even more noticeable roar when he changed his jersey, stayed in the game and sank his free throws.
