The New York Knicks and Miami Heat will face each other in the second round of the 2023 playoffs. This will be the sixth time these two face each other in the playoffs. Here are some of the top moments from this rivalry.

• Pat Riley Leaves

  After four 50-win seasons that included a trip to the Finals and a conference Finals, Riley leaves for South Beach following the 1994-95 season. He was dubbed “Pat the Rat” sending in his resignation through a fax to become the Heat’s president and Head Coach with one year left on his contract.

• P.J. Brown and Charlie Ward fight

  The Heat and Knicks faced each other in the second round of the 1997 playoffs. Game 5 was the infamous Charlie Ward and P.J. Brown brawl that led to the suspension of Ward, Ewing, Starks, Larry Johnson and Allan Houston. The Knicks would lose the next two games allowing the Heat to reach the conference finals.

• Johnson, Morning and Van Gundy

  Miami and New York met in the first round of the playoffs in 1998. In Game 4 beef between two former teammates would get physical. The Knicks already had the game in hand but Johnson was face guarding Morning and then the two got into a shoving match, which would lead to punches. The most intriguing part was Coach Van Gundy trying to stop the fight and ultimately holding onto Morning’s leg.

• Allan Houston game winner

  New York made the 1999 playoffs as an eight seed in a shortened lockout season. The Knicks dominated the series winning the first three out of four. In Game 5 it was tight and the Heat held a one point lead with 4.6 seconds remaining until Houston came in the clutch.

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