Heat–Knicks rivalry

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.

The lockout-shortened 1998–99 season saw the Heat try to move past the previous year's playoff disappointment as Michael Jordan's retirement saw the Bulls quickly fade as an NBA title threat. Miami beat the Pacers and Magic to reach the top of the Eastern Conference. The Knicks only got through the 50-game season with a 27–23 record, barely qualifying for the playoffs as a #8 seed. This put the odds in Miami's favor, as an #8 seed had defeated a #1 seed in the first round just once in NBA history. However, the Knicks defied expectations and won Game 1 95–75 in Miami. The Heat came back with an 83–73 victory in Game 2 to tie the series at 1. Back home for Game 3, New York blew Miami out 97–73 to take a 2–1 series lead. The Knicks had a chance to clinch at home in Game 4, as they held an 8-point lead until Miami charged back to win 87–72 to take it to the limit. Game 5 was a defensive struggle all the way. Miami held a 77–76 lead with 4.5 seconds left, but Allan Houston hit a running 1-hander that bounced off the front rim, off the backboard, and in with 8 tenths left to give New York a 78–77 victory.

The win propelled an improbable run for the Knicks in the playoffs. They swept the Hawks in the semifinals and defeated the Pacers in 6 to clinch their second Eastern Conference Title in five years and advance to the 1999 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Spurs. In doing that, the Knicks became the first 8th-seeded team in NBA history to reach the NBA Finals.

While the Heat won the Atlantic Division for the 4th year in a row, the Knicks were right on their tail, finishing only two games back and capturing the third seed. After both teams easily swept their opening round series (the Knicks sweeping the Toronto Raptors and the Heat sweeping the Detroit Pistons), the two teams met again in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, in what would be the most evenly matched of all 4 series. The Heat won Game 1 87–83 at home to take a 1–0 series lead, but New York tied the series at 1 with an 82–76 victory in Game 2. Game 3 in New York was one of the series' most notable. Ewing hit a jumper with 2.4 seconds left to force OT. He also made 1 of 2 free throws in the final seconds of OT to give New York a 76–75 lead. On Miami's final possession, rookie Anthony Carter drove from the baseline and launched a tough and maybe illegal shot from behind the backboard. It dropped onto the front rim and fell in with 2.1 seconds left. After a referee's conference, they ruled it counted, despite protests from the Knicks. It won the game for Miami 77–76. The Knicks then won Game 4 91–83 on Charlie Ward's 21 points to tie the series at 2.

Back in Miami for Game 5, the Heat came from behind with a sequence of 3's in the final 2 minutes (2 from Dan Majerle and the last one from Bruce Bowen), and won 87–81. Miami had a chance to clinch the series in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden, but blew a 45–30 halftime lead. New York cut it to 6 in the first 3 minutes of the 3rd quarter. Ewing made a difficult tip-dunk off a missed jumpshot to cut the lead to 2 with 2 minutes left. Allan Houston hit 2 free throws with 22 seconds left to give the Knicks a 72–70 lead. Anthony Carter missed a 3 at the buzzer that would have won the series. In a press conference after the game, Pat Riley remarked, "This is absolute madness."

In yet another Game 7, the Heat took an 11-point lead in the first half, before the Knicks rallied to make the game close in the final minutes. Tim Hardaway gave Miami an 82–81 lead when he drained a 3 with 1:32 left. The Knicks responded when Alonzo Mourning gambled and attempted a steal on Patrick Ewing. The move failed allowing Ewing an easy dunk . The Heat had a chance in the final seconds to retake the lead, but Clarence Weatherspoon missed a jumper with 7 seconds left, over Marcus Camby giving the Knicks another playoff series victory over Miami. The Knicks advanced to an Eastern Conference Finals rematch with the Pacers, but this time Indiana won in 6 to advance to the 2000 NBA Finals where they lost to the Lakers.

Towards the end of the 2011–2012 season, with the Heat in the second seed and the Knicks in the seventh seed, anticipation for the first playoff match in 12 years started to build. Knicks fans started chanting "Beat the Heat" at Madison Square Garden during the second-to-last game of the regular season. Carmelo Anthony acknowledged “The fans know what they want, know what they want to see. Hopefully, they get to see that.”[6] Likewise, Heat guard Dwyane Wade said: “I have been here awhile and I have seen the games that we’ve won against New York and how the people in the organization feel every time. You can tell there is something always there. So, in my mind, we’re playing the Knicks. That’s the mind state that I have and I think I’ve had it for the last week.”[7] The Miami Herald further commented: "the NBA would be hard-pressed to find a better marquee game for its Sunday afternoon slot than the opening game between the Heat and Knicks."[7] After a Knicks victory in the final game of the season, it was finally confirmed that the two teams would play each other in the first round of the 2012 playoffs, with the Miami Herald again commenting: "As first-round series go, it doesn’t get any bigger for the Heat.[8]

The Heat easily defeated the Knicks in Game 1 by 33 points. Game 2 was a much closer affair but the Heat still won by 10 points. In Game 3 in MSG, the Heat found themselves on the wrong end in the first half, trailing by as much as 11 points, before closing in the half with a 7–0 run. The Heat led by 2 after the third quarter. However, LeBron James quickly sparked an 8–0 run to start the fourth quarter, giving them a 10-point lead. The Knicks never recovered. James himself outscored the Knicks in the fourth, 17–14. By losing Game 3, the Knicks set a new league record by losing 13 straight playoff games, their last win coming April 29, 2001, in their series versus the Toronto Raptors.[9] Game 4 was different from the first three games. In the third, Baron Davis injured himself. He left the court on a stretcher. However, led by Carmelo Anthony, who scored 41 points, the Knicks prevented a sweep, 89–87, as Wade missed the potential series-winning three-pointer at the buzzer. In Game 5, the Knicks started strong but it was all Miami the rest of the way. The Heat led by 11 at the end of the first half. The Heat never squandered the lead the rest of the way, effectively sealing the game and the series with a three-pointer by Shane Battier that gave the Heat a 14-point lead with a minute left in the game. The Knicks were led by Anthony's 35. Amar'e Stoudemire, meanwhile, was plagued by foul trouble. He fouled out with about 4 minutes left in the game. The Heat would go on to win the 2012 NBA Finals.