With just hours until the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics kick off Game 7 of the NBA Championships, police are already putting up steel barricades to prepare for what could be a raucous celebration in either city.
In Massachusetts, state police will also have 116 troopers from various units staged in the city to assist Boston police, including canine and mounted units and tactical units including a helicopter. Some Boston sports celebrations in the past decade have ended in tragedy, including three deaths since 2004.
To prevent the rioting that erupted among Lakers fans outside Staples Center last year, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said he's deploying four to five times as many officers tonight for Game 7 of the NBA Finals.