It was a basketball rivalry born not from exciting comebacks or grueling streaks, but from a fight. And then it got even fiercer – after another fight.
It took two upsets in the NBA playoffs — the fifth seed Knicks over the fourth seed Cleveland Cavaliers and the eighth seed Miami Heat over the top seed Milwaukee Bucks — to get here. But the Knicks-Heat rivalry that smoldered during the late 1990s has been unexpectedly renewed in the Eastern Conference Semifinal series that begins on Sunday afternoon.
The band’s crew is different from a quarter of a century ago, but many of their fans are not, and their lingering memories will naturally go back to the days of Pat Riley, Charles Oakley, Patrick Ewing, and Tim Hardaway. And more than a few have vivid images in their minds of a 5-foot-9 coach holding on to the leg of a 6-foot-10 player.
1997: The Fracas That Started It All
The items were there. Riley, who led the Knicks for three seasons, became head coach of the Heat, and there was a lot of blood over the move. Ultimately, the Heat had to send the Knicks out in the first round after it emerged that they had messed with Riley while he was still under contract.
The Eastern Conference semi-finalists did not let up. The Knicks led, three games to one, but the Heat were on their way to winning in Miami when, with two minutes left, things fell apart.
It started when Knicks’ Charles Oakley caught a mourning Alonzo from the heat and was thrown out. On the next play, the Knicks’ Charlie Ward squatted and hit BJ Brown at the knee level. Brown then picked up the 6-foot Wingspan He threw it out of bounds. This brawl started with a lot of grabbing and at least one obscene gesture. Riley ended up in a shouting match with Dontae ‘Jones of the Knicks’, who was not dressed for the game, and Jones exchanging words with some Miami fans.
The most significant factor was that most of the Knicks left the bench, and while they weren’t deeply involved in the upset, this violated a sacred NBA rule intended to limit the fight to those already on the court. Five Knicks have been suspended – Ward, Patrick Ewing, Alan Houston, John Starks and Larry Johnson – and only one Heat player is Brown. It was a record for heavy postseason suspensions.
Because of several Knicks’ suspensions, the shootout varied: three Knicks had to miss game six and two had to miss game seven. The Knicks lost both games, losing their lead at 3-1 and the series. Miami lost in the next round to the Chicago Bulls.
1998: That’s Cool. that’s cool.’
Everyone wanted a rematch, and they got it in the first round, because the Knicks—who had been hampered because Ewing only played 26 games that season as a result of a broken wrist—was the seventh seed. The New York Times headline previewing the series was “Gentlemen, Sharpen Your Elbows”.
With seconds left in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden, and the Knicks poised to reach the series at two games apiece, Morning and Johnson tangled under the basket. Punches were thrown, and it all ended with Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy on the court, hanging on Mourning’s leg.
“I’m not an idiot,” said Van Gundy. “I wasn’t attacking anyone. I was trying to juggle the two men so no punches would be thrown.”
Johnson said, “I’ve never been one to let a guy cringe at me, especially when it’s punk like this. 1.4 stayed. That’s cool. That’s cool.” Both fighters were suspended at the conclusion of the five-game series.
This time, though, the Knicks seemed to capitalize and win Game 5, 98-81, and the series in Miami. They were eliminated in the next round by the Pacers.
1999: Kill a Giant
The third round came in a strike year when the regular season was only 50 games long. The shortened season yielded some strange results, and the Knicks barely crept into the playoffs as the eighth seed. That gave them another first-round game against the Heat, who were tied for the best record in the conference.
The teams traded wins, setting up a deciding Game 5 in Miami. For once, the series’ most memorable moments involved basketball instead of fists.
Trailing by 1, the Knicks got the ball in with 4.5 seconds left. Alan Houston jumped off the free throw line. It bounced off the front of the rim, bounced off the backboard—and entered.
“It looked like a two-minute hold, not two seconds,” Houston said. “It’s my biggest shot ever.”
He added, “If we didn’t get the rebound, we’d be talking about something completely different now.”
The Knicks became the eighth seed to beat the top seed, a feat that has been matched several times since, including this season, by the Heat. They went on to reach the Finals in the swing season losing to the San Antonio Spurs.
2000: Lightness of Bands
For the fourth time in four years there has been a Knicks Heat Series, and for the fourth time it has gone the distance. In terms of pure basketball fun, this conference semi-final probably ranked as the first of four games. The teams alternated wins in their first six games, which were decided by margins of 4, 6, 1 (in overtime), 8, 6, and 2.
Game seven was in Miami, and they fought hard. With 12 seconds left, the ball was down by 1. But Ewing and Johnson denied Mourning the ball, and Jamal Mashburn refused to shoot. That left the potential winner of the Heat game for an unlikely pitcher: Clarence Witherspoon, who missed his jump.
Latrell Sprewell caught the Knicks rebound but was ruled out of bounds with two seconds left in the game. But referee Dick Bavetta overruled the call, and the Knicks won the game and the series, the Heat’s third in a row.
Angry Heat fans pelted the stadium with debris. “That’s why they call him Nick Buffita,” Hardaway said. “It’s not right.”
The Knicks lost in the Conference Finals to the Indiana Pacers.
The last two decades
Rivalries like the Knicks Heat don’t last forever, at least at this level of heated intensity.
After four straight playoff meetings, they’ve only met once in the intervening years, in 2012. The drama has never been the same, and the Heat with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have won five.
But the rivalry is back now. The eighth-seeded Heat shocked the Bucks in five games, helped when Giannis Antetokounmpo left Game 1 and missed Games 2 and 3. The series was capped by a 16 fourth-quarter point and overtime win in Game 5, with Jimmy. Butler scored 42 points.
The Knicks beat the Cavs in five games, their first victory in the playoff series in a decade. Their defense held Cleveland to 94.2 points a game, and Jalen Brunson averaged 24 points.
Butler, Bronson, and their colleagues will decide the series, not Oakley or Mourning. It may even be played cleanly and display outstanding fundamentals.
But forgive some fans for secretly rooting to see Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau hanging from Bam Adebayo’s legs.