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Heat–Knicks rivalry
The Heat–Knicks rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the two teams met in the NBA playoffs four years in a row from 1997 to 2000, with the Knicks winning three of those series and the Heat winning one. The teams most recently met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2023 NBA playoffs, which the Heat won in six games.
The Heat–Knicks rivalry was one of the fiercest in the NBA, and Sports Illustrated considered it the third-best NBA rivalry. Prior to the 1997 NBA playoffs, no two NBA teams had ever met in the playoffs for four consecutive seasons, with each series going to the maximum possible number of games. The aggressive nature of those four series, defensive struggles marked by numerous foul calls, and intensely physical play, can be traced to the highly defensive style of Pat Riley, former coach of both teams and the rivalry's central figure. This 1990s rivalry created some of the most highly anticipated matchups during its short-lived tenure.
On March 1, 1991, Dave Checketts was named as the team president for the New York Knicks, and hired Riley as head coach for the 1992 season. He turned New York into contenders in a short time, culminating with an Eastern Conference championship in 1994 before losing to Houston in the 1994 NBA Finals, which denied New York from having NBA and NHL championships in the same year, as the Rangers won Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals over the Canucks during the Finals.
Unable to repeat a trip to the Finals in 1995, Riley stepped down as the Knicks' head coach. At the time, many speculated either that he thought the Knicks were no longer a title threat and wanted to move on, or wanted more power. Riley answered that question on September 2, 1995, when he took over as team president and head coach of the Miami Heat. His move caused some controversy, as the Knicks accused Miami of tampering while he was still under contract, which was settled after Miami sent their 1996 first round pick (#19 – Walter McCarty) and $1 million in cash to New York on September 1, 1995. Before the rivalry began the only notable occurrence between the teams was the Heat ending the Knicks' 15-game win streak in 1994.
In only Riley's second season as Miami's head coach, the Heat dethroned New York as Atlantic Division champions. This set up one of the most dramatic playoff series in NBA history, when these teams met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The matchup was set up when the Knicks swept the Charlotte Hornets and the Heat needing the full five games to dispose of their in-state rivals the Orlando Magic in the opening round. Game 1, which the Knicks won 88–79, was iced by Ewing's dunk on Mourning. Jamal Mashburn's 3 put Game 2 out of reach and tied the series at 1 with an 88–84 victory. In Game 3 in New York, Ewing went out and blocked a potential game-tying 3 from Tim Hardaway, then secured the loose ball. The Knicks won 77–73. New York won Game 4 89–76, dominating Miami the entire way to gain a 3–1 series lead.
Miami won Game 5 96–81, which was highlighted by a brawl that started when P.J. Brown objected to Charlie Ward's attempt to gain position for a rebound. Brown flipped Ward over his head and body-slammed him, and a melee ensued. The Knicks and their fans speculated that Riley told Brown to start a brawl in the hopes that Knicks players would get suspended, since the series was unwinnable against a full-strength Knicks team that many considered prime to dethrone Chicago. This is up for debate, since many observers questioned why Ward dived toward Brown's legs with the game out of reach in the first place (Also worth noting is the fact that Brown's much taller than Ward). During the brawl, Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, Larry Johnson and John Starks left the bench; the league punished them for this by handing out 1-game suspensions spread out over the series' final 2 games. Ewing, Houston and Ward were suspended for Game 6; Johnson and Starks were suspended for Game 7. Shorthanded by the suspensions, the Knicks lost Games 6 and 7 95–90 and 101–90 respectively. The Heat advanced to face the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, which they lost in 5.
Bolstered by last year's results, Miami once again captured the Atlantic Division crown. New York regressed, largely due to Ewing suffering a severely broken wrist that forced him to miss most of the regular season, and only attained the seventh seed in the East. With Chicago again gaining the #1 seed, the Heat were paired against the Knicks in a rematch of their series the year before. Miami won Game 1, 94–79, but the Knicks bounced back and won Game 2, 96–86 to tie the series at 1. Miami won Game 3, 91–85 to take a 2–1 series lead. But New York won Game 4, 90–85, which was highlighted by the fight between Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson (who had been teammates in Charlotte) at the end of the game. Although neither landed a punch, the fight famously saw Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy grab on to Mourning's legs in an unsuccessful attempt to break the fight up. The NBA suspended Mourning and Johnson for the fight.
Without Mourning, the Knicks jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead in Game 5. However, Miami chipped away at it in the third and fourth quarters. In the fourth, Tim Hardaway connected on a number of long and improbable 3's until with over 6 minutes left, the Heat only trailed 72–70. With the momentum and crowd behind them, the Heat seemed poised to overtake New York. However, the Knicks retook the momentum on a sequence consisting of a Ward 3-pointer, an Allan Houston jumper and free throw, and then a fast-break layup by Charles Oakley, on which he was fouled from behind and fell into the stands (this was ruled to be a flagrant, meaning the Knicks shot free throws and retained possession). On the extra possession, Starks hit a 3 that extended the Knicks' lead back up to 13. Miami wouldn't challenge New York the rest of the way, as the Knicks won the series with a 98–81 victory in Miami. New York then lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to Indiana in 5.
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Heat–Knicks rivalry
The Heat–Knicks rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the two teams met in the NBA playoffs four years in a row from 1997 to 2000, with the Knicks winning three of those series and the Heat winning one. The teams most recently met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2023 NBA playoffs, which the Heat won in six games.
The Heat–Knicks rivalry was one of the fiercest in the NBA, and Sports Illustrated considered it the third-best NBA rivalry. Prior to the 1997 NBA playoffs, no two NBA teams had ever met in the playoffs for four consecutive seasons, with each series going to the maximum possible number of games. The aggressive nature of those four series, defensive struggles marked by numerous foul calls, and intensely physical play, can be traced to the highly defensive style of Pat Riley, former coach of both teams and the rivalry's central figure. This 1990s rivalry created some of the most highly anticipated matchups during its short-lived tenure.
On March 1, 1991, Dave Checketts was named as the team president for the New York Knicks, and hired Riley as head coach for the 1992 season. He turned New York into contenders in a short time, culminating with an Eastern Conference championship in 1994 before losing to Houston in the 1994 NBA Finals, which denied New York from having NBA and NHL championships in the same year, as the Rangers won Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals over the Canucks during the Finals.
Unable to repeat a trip to the Finals in 1995, Riley stepped down as the Knicks' head coach. At the time, many speculated either that he thought the Knicks were no longer a title threat and wanted to move on, or wanted more power. Riley answered that question on September 2, 1995, when he took over as team president and head coach of the Miami Heat. His move caused some controversy, as the Knicks accused Miami of tampering while he was still under contract, which was settled after Miami sent their 1996 first round pick (#19 – Walter McCarty) and $1 million in cash to New York on September 1, 1995. Before the rivalry began the only notable occurrence between the teams was the Heat ending the Knicks' 15-game win streak in 1994.
In only Riley's second season as Miami's head coach, the Heat dethroned New York as Atlantic Division champions. This set up one of the most dramatic playoff series in NBA history, when these teams met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The matchup was set up when the Knicks swept the Charlotte Hornets and the Heat needing the full five games to dispose of their in-state rivals the Orlando Magic in the opening round. Game 1, which the Knicks won 88–79, was iced by Ewing's dunk on Mourning. Jamal Mashburn's 3 put Game 2 out of reach and tied the series at 1 with an 88–84 victory. In Game 3 in New York, Ewing went out and blocked a potential game-tying 3 from Tim Hardaway, then secured the loose ball. The Knicks won 77–73. New York won Game 4 89–76, dominating Miami the entire way to gain a 3–1 series lead.
Miami won Game 5 96–81, which was highlighted by a brawl that started when P.J. Brown objected to Charlie Ward's attempt to gain position for a rebound. Brown flipped Ward over his head and body-slammed him, and a melee ensued. The Knicks and their fans speculated that Riley told Brown to start a brawl in the hopes that Knicks players would get suspended, since the series was unwinnable against a full-strength Knicks team that many considered prime to dethrone Chicago. This is up for debate, since many observers questioned why Ward dived toward Brown's legs with the game out of reach in the first place (Also worth noting is the fact that Brown's much taller than Ward). During the brawl, Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, Larry Johnson and John Starks left the bench; the league punished them for this by handing out 1-game suspensions spread out over the series' final 2 games. Ewing, Houston and Ward were suspended for Game 6; Johnson and Starks were suspended for Game 7. Shorthanded by the suspensions, the Knicks lost Games 6 and 7 95–90 and 101–90 respectively. The Heat advanced to face the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, which they lost in 5.
Bolstered by last year's results, Miami once again captured the Atlantic Division crown. New York regressed, largely due to Ewing suffering a severely broken wrist that forced him to miss most of the regular season, and only attained the seventh seed in the East. With Chicago again gaining the #1 seed, the Heat were paired against the Knicks in a rematch of their series the year before. Miami won Game 1, 94–79, but the Knicks bounced back and won Game 2, 96–86 to tie the series at 1. Miami won Game 3, 91–85 to take a 2–1 series lead. But New York won Game 4, 90–85, which was highlighted by the fight between Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson (who had been teammates in Charlotte) at the end of the game. Although neither landed a punch, the fight famously saw Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy grab on to Mourning's legs in an unsuccessful attempt to break the fight up. The NBA suspended Mourning and Johnson for the fight.
Without Mourning, the Knicks jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead in Game 5. However, Miami chipped away at it in the third and fourth quarters. In the fourth, Tim Hardaway connected on a number of long and improbable 3's until with over 6 minutes left, the Heat only trailed 72–70. With the momentum and crowd behind them, the Heat seemed poised to overtake New York. However, the Knicks retook the momentum on a sequence consisting of a Ward 3-pointer, an Allan Houston jumper and free throw, and then a fast-break layup by Charles Oakley, on which he was fouled from behind and fell into the stands (this was ruled to be a flagrant, meaning the Knicks shot free throws and retained possession). On the extra possession, Starks hit a 3 that extended the Knicks' lead back up to 13. Miami wouldn't challenge New York the rest of the way, as the Knicks won the series with a 98–81 victory in Miami. New York then lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to Indiana in 5.