From 1997 to 2000, the Miami Heat and New York Knicks had one of the most heated rivalries in all of sports. Thanks to Pat Riley ditching the Knicks for the Heat, everyone in New York hated Miami, and vice versa.
One guy who partook in the rivalry was Hall of Fame center Alonzo Mourning . While none of these teams won a title during this stretch, their playoff battles were fierce, and "Zo" recently took a second to explain why that was the case.
Alonzo Mourning dishes on Heat- Knicks rivalry
The Heat and Knicks clashed in the playoffs four times in a row in the aforementioned years, and Mourning was a big part of the rivalry. The big man was tasked with anchoring the paint on both ends of the floor, which was particularly important considering the physicality of these games.
During this stretch, fans knew they were in for a treat whenever these two squads met. Mourning noted how Riley's decision to spurn the Knicks helped make the rivalry so intense because both teams knew pretty much everything there was to know about the other.
"It was just a level of intensity," Alonzo Mourning said on All The Smoke . "As competitors, once the lather gets going and you start competing against your opponent, the intensity level gets to the point where you're in my way…from us getting done what we need to get done. So what I need to do to get you out of my way? Go through you. That's it, that's the mentality that we had."
"(Pat Riley), he developed that mentality in both of those teams. Those were his brainchilds, both teams. Then we both met each other, and (Jeff Van Gundy) was an assistant to Riles. So that mentality was developed and it was deep rooted, and we knew each other's plays, we knew everything. That's why the scores were so low…It was a dogfight. Defense was knockdown, drag out possessions, hard fought," Mourning added.
The New York Knicks got the best of the Miami Heat in this rivalry
Rivalries in sports are usually very tightly contested, but in this case, a clear winner in the Knicks won three of the four postseason battles during this stretch. Every series went the distance, though, further highlighting how competitive these two teams were.
Mourning was part of this rivalry the whole way through, and he knew every time he went up against the Knicks, it would be a bloodbath. These two squads did not like each other and were intent on doing whatever they could to come out on top.
Unfortunately for the Heat, the Knicks managed to exact revenge on Riley and company by sending them packing three seasons in a row from 1998 to 2000. Miami has won three titles since, though, so they probably got over it pretty quickly.
Rarely do you see teams clash four seasons in a row in the playoffs and then grind out long hard-fought series, but that's what happened with the Heat and the Knicks. And if you ask Mourning, it led to the birth of one of the more unique rivalries in NBA history.
Related: "There was a lot of backstories" - Jamal Mashburn shares what made the Heat-Knicks rivalry in the late 1990s so great
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