A dream day for New York fans with Knicks on the road to clinch and Brazil vs. Morocco in World Cup

NEW YORK (AP) — If there is a saving grace from the bedlam that is about to ensue in New York City on Saturday, with the Knicks on the verge of a championship and Brazil taking on Morocco in the World Cup, it is that Game 5 of the NBA Finals is on the road.

Of course, that won’t stop orange-and-blue-blooded Knicks fans from teeming into the area near the team’s Manhattan arena to watch on bar TVs and big screens as their team — playing 1,580 miles (2,545 kilometers) away in San Antonio — looks to clinch its first title in 53 years.

The city, which is already blocking off some streets near Madison Square Garden for World Cup transportation, has yet to say what security measures will be in place for Knicks fans gathering outside. The team hasn’t said if it will hold a watch party outside the arena as it did earlier in the series.

The Knicks were granted a permit for a watch party for up to 1,000 people for Game 4 on Wednesday, but team owner James Dolan declined to hold one as he lashed out at Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the police department for keeping in place a security perimeter, metal detectors and other restrictions after President Donald Trump‘s visit to Game 3 on Monday.

All postseason, Knicks fans have flocked to the Garden by the thousands, making playoff pilgrimages to a place known as the “Mecca of Basketball” to cheer, commune and revel in a remarkable feat: 14 wins in 15 games since April 23, and a 3-1 lead over the Spurs in the best-of-seven series.

On Saturday, Knicks fever collides with the New York City area’s first World Cup game in 32 years. The match at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey kicks off about three hours before the Knicks game, but traffic and transit restrictions extend to Manhattan, and soccer fans returning to the city by train will be arriving at Penn Station — right underneath the Garden.

Complicating matters: a concert at the Garden that is expected to bring another 15,000 to 20,000 people to the area and prevents a watch party inside the arena and a scorching heatwave that has city officials advising people to stay indoors. On Sunday, the city is hosting another big event, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade.

The concert, by the Australian pop band 5 Seconds of Summer, follows the Knicks’ 4.5 seconds of delirium Wednesday night at the Garden — a magical sequence in which OG Anunoby tipped in a Jalen Brunson miss to complete a historic 29-point comeback and put them a game from the third title in team history.

Outside, it was pandemonium.

Fans in blue Brunson and orange Karl-Anthony Towns jerseys ran through the streets. Subway cars erupted in cheers as fans peeped the winning shot on their cellphones, their feeds interrupted at times by spotty underground reception.

Just beyond the Garden’s police-prescribed security perimeter, crowds swelled to about 10,000 people, the NYPD said. Thousands more were taking in the game and its see-it-to-believe-it ending at watch parties at nearby Bryant Park and Wollman Rink in Central Park.

But as the game progressed, the police department said in a statement, “the crowds became increasingly destructive, and there were many incidents of incredibly reckless and dangerous behavior.”

People fought in the streets and set off fireworks. They climbed scaffolding and traffic lights and smashed the windshields of four police vehicles. Some people tried to physically flip over a taxi or jump on top of moving trucks and other vehicles, police said. One group broke into a tractor trailer, took items from inside and threw them at police officers.

At least 10 officers were hurt in the mayhem, police said. One was hit in the head with a glass bottle.

In all, 56 people were taken into police custody during and after Game 4. Of them, 15 were arrested and 41 were released with criminal court summonses.

Other Knicks-related crimes remain unsolved.

On Wednesday, about two blocks from the Garden, a 17-year-old boy was beaten into a coma by people who had been arguing with him about the Knicks after their Game 4 comeback win, the NYPD said. Later, at the Spurs hotel five blocks from the arena, someone hurled an egg at star Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, but missed.

After the Spurs won Game 3 on Monday, a 39-year-old Spurs fan had his Tim Duncan jersey ripped from his body while walking back to his hotel near Times Square, the NYPD said.

With the confluence of events on the pitch, court and stage, the city has declared a Gridlock Alert for Saturday, with severe traffic congestion expected in midtown Manhattan. Street closures and limited access to parts of Penn Station will be in effect for each of the eight World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium.

Starting at noon, two streets adjacent to the Garden — 32nd and 33rd — will be closed to vehicle traffic and used as queues for people waiting for trains from Penn Station to the World Cup. They will reopen three hours after the match ends.

The city is also barring truck deliveries from 30th Street to 60th Street from noon to 11 p.m., closing streets around the Lincoln Tunnel to New Jersey and converting some streets to bus-only corridors, including 42nd Street, which traverses Times Square. Of late, the tourist haven has been co-opted as yet another place for New York fans to cheer.

If the Knicks win Game 5, the next stop for their roving faithful will be a celebratory parade in Lower Manhattan, through a skyscraper-filled stretch of the city known as the Canyon of Heroes.

If not, the Knicks and their fans will be back at the Garden on Tuesday for Game 6.

Fans wait to pass police on Eighth Avenue outside of Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Fans wait to pass police on Eighth Avenue outside of Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Fans pass a security checkpoint on Sixth Avenue outside of Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Former New York Knicks player Jeremy Lin, right, interviews Knicks fans outside of Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Workers began removing President Donald Trump's name from the facade of the Kennedy Center early Saturday, hours after a court-ordered Friday deadline to remove references to Trump from the building and other aspects of the iconic performing arts venue’s operations.

Scaffolding was erected Friday around a section of the building that includes Trump’s name, but shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon Eastern Time on Saturday because of thunderstorms that had swept through the Washington area, causing a delay.

In the filing, the Kennedy Center offered assurance that the “removal work is presently ongoing” and would “conclude in the early hours of the morning.”

A few hours later, workers began covering the scaffolding with tarps before they eventually started taking down Trump's name.

Dozens of people spent hours Friday on the plaza in front of the Kennedy Center taking pictures and cheering occasionally as they broke into chants of “take it down.” Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio board member who sued to have Trump's name removed from the building, was spotted at one point on the plaza.

Earlier Friday afternoon, a judge rejected a request to pause the court-ordered deadline. The institution appealed that ruling, an effort that was also rebuffed Friday evening.

After ignoring the Kennedy Center for much of his first term, Trump has wielded tremendous influence over the venue during his return to office. Just a month into his second term, he ousted the center’s previous leadership and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. Trump's name was quickly added to the building.

In his ruling that only Congress could make changes to the Kennedy Center's name, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper also blocked the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations that had been planned to start in July and last for two years.

The Kennedy Center's leadership argued in its appeal Friday that the renovation was badly needed and accused the lower court, in terms that seemed similar to Trump's speech patterns, of interfering in the effort.

“The District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix up and repair the Building, including potentially life threatening structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below,” according to the appeal. “Indeed, total collapse!”

Even as the Kennedy Center has fought efforts to remove Trump's name from the building, it has taken steps to comply with Cooper's initial ruling.

A June 4 memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s Office of General Counsel said email signatures, letterhead and other documents must reflect the name as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center.”

The Kennedy Center’s website has dropped Trump's name. And an earlier email sent to members offering ticket packages for the June 28 Mark Twain Award for American Humor ceremony came from the Kennedy Center without including Trump’s name.

Associated Press journalists Anna Johnson, Mark Sherman and Emily Wang in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Workers wait for the rain to stop before resuming work to remove President Donald Trump's name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Workers erect scaffolding in front of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts sign in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

A double rainbow is seen from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Workers construct scaffolding below the sign for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Protestors wave a U.S. and signs as workers prepare to remove President Donald Trump's name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)