{"id":713019,"date":"2026-04-18T07:41:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T07:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/713019\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T07:41:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T07:41:04","slug":"knicks-host-massive-free-playoff-party-for-fans-before-hawks-game-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/713019\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks Host Massive Free Playoff Party for Fans Before Hawks Game 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776498063_961_GettyImages-2267897749-e1775555190924.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/new-york-knicks\/\" title=\"New York Knicks\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"229695\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New York Knicks<\/a> are making sure their fans feel every bit of the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/new-york-knicks\/mike-brown-knicks-hawks-playoffs\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">playoff energy<\/a> before the first tip-off. Ahead of their first-round showdown against the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/atlanta-hawks\/\" title=\"Atlanta Hawks\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"229696\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Atlanta Hawks<\/a>, the Knicks are going all out, hosting a massive free outdoor party in New York City on April 18, bringing the orange-and-blue fans together before Game 1 kicks off at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n<p>What Is Playoff Palooza?<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5904811\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-5904811\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2270750876-e1776097289148.jpg\" alt=\"KNICKS Vs HAWKS playoffs\" width=\"782\" height=\"439\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5904811\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyKnicks Vs Hawks<\/p>\n<p>The Knicks have officially dubbed the celebration \u201cPlayoff Palooza,\u201d and it\u2019s open to all fans, completely free of charge. The event is hosted at SummerStage in Central Park, located near the park\u2019s entrance at Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street, and runs from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM ET. Fans can register for the event directly on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/knicks\/playoffs\/palooza\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>What to Expect at the Party<\/p>\n<p>The Playoff Palooza is packed with activities designed specifically for Knicks fans. Attendees will have the rare chance to meet Knicks alumni in person, with alumni appearances confirmed at each watch party location as well.<\/p>\n<p>The fun includes the Knicks Crosstown Express Bus presented by DoorDash, face painting, temporary tattoos, vertical jump games, spin-to-win contests, free samplings from Snapple and C4 Energy, a vintage photobooth, and plenty more giveaways.<\/p>\n<p>Following Playoff Palooza, the Knicks will host Game 1 Watch Parties outdoors at two locations: Plaza33 on 33rd Street outside Madison Square Garden and back at SummerStage in Central Park.<\/p>\n<p>Knicks are hosting a playoff palooza for fans tomorrow ahead of the game <\/p>\n<p>How to Watch Knicks vs. Hawks Game 1<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5903771\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-5903771\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2270138501_c9dd8a-e1776050237725.jpg\" alt=\"Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks ldrives against Dyson Daniels #5 and Jalen Johnson #1 of the Atlanta Hawks\" width=\"782\" height=\"440\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5903771\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Getty Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks leads against Dyson Daniels #5 and Jalen Johnson #1 of the Atlanta Hawks<\/p>\n<p>Game 1 between the Knicks and Hawks tips off at 6 p.m. ET on April 18 at Madison Square Garden. The game will be streamed exclusively on Prime Video, and is not available on traditional cable TV. New Amazon Prime customers can catch the game through a 30-day free trial.<\/p>\n<p>The Knicks enter the series as heavy favorites, finishing the regular season at 53\u201329, while the Hawks come in as the No. 6 seed at 46\u201336.<\/p>\n<p>Date<br \/>\nGame<br \/>\nTime (ET)<br \/>\nWhere to Watch<\/p>\n<p>April 18<br \/>\nGame 1 at Knicks<br \/>\n6 p.m.<br \/>\nPrime Video<\/p>\n<p>April 20<br \/>\nGame 2 at Knicks<br \/>\n8 p.m.<br \/>\nNBC, Peacock, DIRECTV<\/p>\n<p>April 23<br \/>\nGame 3 at Hawks<br \/>\n7 p.m.<br \/>\nPrime Video<\/p>\n<p>April 25<br \/>\nGame 4 at Hawks<br \/>\n6 p.m.<br \/>\nNBC, Peacock, DIRECTV<\/p>\n<p>April 28<br \/>\nGame 5* at Knicks<br \/>\nTBD<br \/>\nTBD<\/p>\n<p>April 30<br \/>\nGame 6* at Hawks<br \/>\nTBD<br \/>\nTBD<\/p>\n<p>May 2<br \/>\nGame 7* at Knicks<br \/>\nTBD<br \/>\nTBD<\/p>\n<p>The Knicks\u2019 Playoff Road Ahead<\/p>\n<p>New York went 2\u20131 against Atlanta during the regular season, winning matchups on December 27, 2025, and April 6, 2026. The Hawks made the playoffs despite a midseason trade involving former star point guard Trae Young, making their first-round path significantly tougher against a battle-tested Knicks squad.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/new-york-knicks\/knicks-playoffs-hawks-msg-mind-game\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Madison Square Garden is one of the loudest<\/a> arenas in the league, giving New York a massive home-court advantage as the Knicks chase their deepest playoff run in years.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/jayeshpagar\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jayesh Pagar<\/a> Jayesh Pagar is a writer at Heavy Sports, covering the New York Knicks and other NBA teams. He brings four years of experience across digital sports media, including NBA, WNBA, college basketball, and college football. He covered as the Knicks beat writer for ONSI and has written for PFSN, Sporting News, and ClutchPoints.  <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/jayeshpagar\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Jayesh Pagar<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Knicks\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks The New York Knicks are making sure their fans feel every bit of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":703044,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3768],"tags":[7,304,6,1136,191,3810,3806],"class_list":{"0":"post-713019","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-knicks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-knicks","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-knicks","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkknicks"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116424585673550834","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=713019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/703044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=713019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=713019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=713019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}