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June 12, 2026 / 6:32 PM EDT
/ CBS News
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After the New York Knicks lost to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday, a large group of people took over a street in midtown Manhattan — and one New Yorker tried to stop the chaos.The crowd became increasingly rowdy, violent and destructive on a street adjacent to a watch party in Bryant Park, according to the New York City Police Department.Videos posted on social media show fans fighting, ripping out street signs and banging on cars. Fans also blocked traffic and climbed on top of light poles and police vehicles, police said.In a now-viral video, 32-year-old Balladoli Mieses stepped in front of people attempting to pull a street sign from the ground and asked, "What are y'all doing? This is our city.""New York City means a lot to me because this is where I was raised…this is where my daughters live," Mieses told CBS News on Friday.The father of four said that people ignored his pleas to stop, and instead started booing and slapping him.Mieses said he "didn't care" about the negative reaction, explaining that he acted on an instinct to protect where he lives.
