National Basketball Association

Patrick Ewing on Heat rivalry being reborn: 'We've got to do what the Knicks do'

Updated Apr. 30, 2023 10:00 a.m. ET

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

Patrick Ewing wasted no time answering the question, responding in a fashion that would have made you think he just got done playing the games that helped shape the NBA in the late 1990s.

What's your fondest memory of the rivalry between the New York Knicks and Miami Heat?

"Well, that's easy. We beat them more than they beat us," Ewing said. "We were two teams that were mirror images of each other. It really was a great rivalry, and there was zero love lost. We didn't like each other."

That passion from Ewing is shared by anyone associated with these two teams heading into this unexpected Eastern Conference semifinals series, which tips off Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden. In an interview with FOX Sports on Friday, Ewing couldn't contain his excitement for the matchup, and the Hall of Famer and now ex-Georgetown head coach said that he is considering heading to Manhattan to attend the series opener.

[Heat vs. Knicks: An NBA playoff showdown with a contentious history]

"I'll tell you what, we've got some guys," Ewing said when describing the 2023 Knicks. "I love Jalen Brunson and have loved his game since he was at Villanova. The passion and intensity that he plays with have made me a big fan. [RJ] Barrett's been outstanding, [Josh] Hart has come in and played a key role and when [Julius] Randle has been on the floor, I think he adds a different dimension. The way they've worked through the Randle injury has been impressive."

When Ewing continued to look back at his rivalry with the Heat, his emotions ranged from a scar that he still feels to the hardest he's ever laughed.

Like many Knicks fans, Ewing thinks of what could have been in 1997, when New York controlled the Eastern Conference semifinals series three games to one. But with two minutes remaining in Game 5, everything shifted. Charles Oakley was ejected for bumping Alonzo Mourning. On the ensuing play, Knicks guard Charlie Ward collided with the Heat's PJ Brown, which led to Brown throwing Ward out of bounds and into a row of photographers.

"Charlie [Ward] was just trying to box him out," Ewing said. "PJ decided to flip him."

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A melee ensued, with Ewing among the Knicks players on the bench to step onto the floor. In what was the most extensive penalty during the NBA playoffs at the time, five New York players — Ewing, Ward, John Starks, Larry Johnson and Allan Houston — were suspended for Game 5 by then-commissioner David Stern, while Brown was the only one from the Heat to get suspended (two games).

"No, it was not fair at all," Ewing said of that penalty. "I was not involved in that skirmish. It didn't make any sense back then."

As for the humor for Ewing within this rivalry, the skirmish in Game 4 in the first round of the 1998 playoffs delivered an image that still hangs in his head.

As the Knicks were about to tie the series at two games apiece, Johnson and Mourning got into a tussle on the baseline, igniting a fight between the two sides in which fists flew and 5-foot-9 Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy clung to the leg of the 6-foot-10 Mourning.

"That was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life," Ewing said. "Jeff kept sliding his leg down. He was hanging on to it for dear life. When we advanced to the next round to face the Pacers, an Indiana fan was walking around with a doll taped to his leg at their arena."

As if there weren't enough layers to this rivalry and how the past ties to the present, look at 1999 when the eighth-seeded Knicks became just the second team at the time to knock off a 1-seed in the playoffs by shocking the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. That year, Houston hit a runner that hit the front of the rim and the backboard before falling in, earning New York the shocking series victory.

"That was an unbelievable, great game," Ewing said. "It was nip-and-tuck, and the teams competed so fiercely against each other. Allan hit the huge shot for us. That's one of the sweetest series wins for me, no doubt."

Beyond basketball, what made the rivalry so personal for Ewing was the Georgetown connection he had with Mourning, with Ewing on the Hoyas from 1981-85 and Mourning following in his footsteps from 1988-92. The two centers are like brothers as Ewing describes, and Alonzo's son Trey played for Ewing in the 2017-18 season.

"We talk all the time and have been the best of friends," Ewing said. "But when it came to stepping out on that court to play him, the communication stopped. We were trying to do one thing: dominate each other. And that's the way both of our teams really played, we tried to impose our wills on the game. That's how things ended up happening."

As for what's ahead on Sunday, Ewing said the way this Knicks team has played collectively and the coaching job Tom Thibodeau has done to get the group to play together will be vital against the Jimmy Butler-powered Heat.

"I'm excited for this series," Ewing said. "Now we've got to do what the Knicks do."

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.

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