Search underway for New York mob that attacked Spurs fan following NBA Finals game: NYPD

As the Knicks prepared to resume the NBA Finals against the Spurs at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, the New York Police Department said it is searching for members of a mob that beat down a Spurs fan and stripped him of his team jersey.

The 39-year-old San Antonio fan was jumped around 12:17 a.m. on Tuesday on a Midtown Manhattan street, following Game 3 of the NBA Finals at the Garden, according to the NYPD.

The man, whose name was not released, was walking back to his hotel "when a group of unidentified individuals approached and surrounded him," the NYPD said in a statement.

"The individuals proceeded to punch and kick the victim about the body and forcibly removed the victim's basketball jersey from his body," the NYPD said.

The NYPD released surveillance photos of five individuals wanted on charges of robbery stemming from the incident.

As of Wednesday afternoon, no arrests have been announced.

At least 21 people other people were arrested following Monday night's Knicks loss in Game 3 of the championship series, according to the NYPD.

The NYPD said that in the immediate aftermath of the game, several people allegedly threw beer bottles at or punched police officers, climbed on light poles and scaffolding, got into fistfights, and jumped on top of cars and taxi cabs.

Eight people were arrested on charges of assaulting police officers, criminal possession of a weapon, menacing, resisting arrest, and obstructing governmental administration, according to the NYPD. Thirteen others were issued criminal court summonses for disorderly conduct, the NYPD said.

The Knicks lead the best-of-seven series two games to one in the team's quest to win its first NBA championship since 1973.

For Monday night's game, a fan watch party that had been scheduled to occur outside of Madison Square Garden was canceled due to President Donald Trump attending the game. But other watch parties were held around the city, including one at Bryant Park in Manhattan.

While a fan watch party was supposed to take place outside Madison Square Garden for Wednesday's Game 4, Knicks owner James Dolan said late Wednesday afternoon that the event has been canceled.

Madison Square Garden officials had earlier criticized the NYPD and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for the crowd-control plan for the ticketed watch party that had been planned for outside the arena Wednesday night, specifically for limiting the crowd capacity to 1,000 spectators.

Garden officials said that restricting the size of the crowd outside the venue, "will turn the streets around MSG into a police state."

In a radio interview on WFAN, Dolan suggested that it wasn't worth holding the watch party for 1,000 fans, and called the mayor and police commissioner "party poopers."

But the NYPD said Madison Square Garden officials had only sought a permit for 500 to 999 people to attend the fan watch party outside the arena.

Mamdani issued a statement on social media on Tuesday announcing the Game 4 watch party outside the Garden, saying, "As we prepare to watch together, let me be clear: This is a historic, joyful moment for our city. We will not allow it to be disrupted by violence."