The Knicks Do the Improbable (Again), and New York City Loves It

A woman dragging a roller suitcase across Seventh Avenue in Manhattan stopped in front of a wild sight Wednesday night: hundreds of people, jumping up and down, shouting and cheering in unison. She asked a group of police officers what was going on.

“The Knicks,” one of the officers said.

“Oh,” she responded, before wading through the euphoric crowd in the direction of Penn Station.

Signs of springtime in New York are everywhere. Cherry blossoms in Brooklyn, sunbathers in Central Park and, for the last few years, after decades of relative hibernation, the Knicks in the playoffs.

“This is phenomenal,” said Ann Powell, a business executive from Mount Vernon, N.Y., who attended the team’s free viewing party outside Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. “The vibe is just electric. Nobody believed we had a chance — none of the media, the experts, nobody but us. We always believe. But I’m also kind of in shock.”

Ms. Powell’s surprise was the product of the Knicks’ stunning, last-minute, come-from-behind victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the second round of the N.B.A. playoffs. It followed an equally unexpected, last-minute, come-from-behind win in Game 1, both of them in Boston, as the Knicks took control of the best-of-seven series. They are the first team in N.B.A. history to complete a 20-point comeback in consecutive playoff games.