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 GAME FLOW
MIAMI (AP) -- Same setting, new ending, familiar result: The
Knicks are moving on and the Heat are going home.
The New York Knicks did it again in Miami, ending the Heat's
season in a hostile arena for the third straight year in yet
another riveting win-or-else game -- this time with a finish that
left the home team crying foul.
|  | | Latrell Sprewell gave the Knicks reason to celebrate in the second quarter by scoring 14 of his team-high 24 points. |
Getting the winning points from Patrick Ewing with 1:20 left and
the benefit of an official's call with 2.1 seconds left, the Knicks
knocked the Heat out of the playoffs 83-82 Sunday in Game 7 of
their second-round series to advance to the Eastern Conference
finals against Indiana.
So upset were the Heat with the way the ending went down -- they
felt an official had awarded the Knicks a timeout when no one had
asked for one -- that Jamal Mashburn chased the referees as they ran
off the court while Miami's coaches yelled that they had been
robbed.
Referee Bennett Salvatore said Sprewell had called a timeout,
although Sprewell admitted he hadn't. Chris Childs said it was he
who had called timeout from several feet away, while Sprewell
thought it was Marcus Camby who called it.
"They had three officials in their pocket," Mashburn said.
After running the rest of the time off the clock without
allowing the Heat to foul, the Knicks mobbed each other at midcourt
-- celebrating again on another May afternoon in Miami after a
draining, all-out battle with their fiercest rivals.
This was vintage Knicks-Heat, another gripping chapter in a
rivalry so strong, with games so intense, that it almost seemed
predestined to go down to the final shot.
Tim Hardaway hit a 3-pointer with 1:32 left to give Miami an
82-81 lead, and Ewing slipped behind Alonzo Mourning for a dunk
that made it 83-82 with 1:20 left.
Mashburn missed a jumper in the lane but atoned for it by
stealing the ball from Childs with 34 seconds left. Hardaway then
missed a runner, and the rebound was batted around until a jump
ball was called. Mourning won the tap to give the Heat the ball
with 12.4 seconds left.
The Heat called a timeout and then got the ball to Mourning, but
he passed out of a double-team and the ball ended up in the hands
of Clarence Weatherspoon for a 12-footer that bounced off the back
rim.
"We weren't going to let Alonzo beat us," said Childs, who
singlehandedly kept the Knicks in the game during the fourth
quarter. "With Weatherspoon, I don't think he's been in that
situation many times before."
Sprewell rebounded, and Salvatore stopped the clock with 2.1
seconds left after ruling that Sprewell had called a timeout before falling out of bounds. The
Heat argued that Sprewell never called for a timeout -- an argument
backed up by television replays and Sprewell's own admission.
The referees huddled but did not change the call.
"I had Sprewell calling time out," Salvatore said, "but I
wasn't sure where his foot was. I didn't believe he was out of
bounds, but I wanted to check with my partner (Dick Bavetta and Dan
Crawford were the other officials) to make sure he was not out of
bounds when my whistle blew. He confirmed that there was no
question the timeout came before he went out of bounds."
Hardaway was among the most vocal critics of the call -- on the
court and again after the game.
"I see why they call Dick Bavetta 'Knick' Bavetta," Hardaway
said.
Childs took the final 2.1 seconds off the clock by catching
Charlie Ward's inbounds pass and hurling it high in the air.
Just like that, it was over. A series that had included Heat
guard Anthony Carter's incredible shot from behind the backboard in
Game 3 and the Knicks' stunning comeback from an 18-point deficit
in Game 6 had ended with New York's third straight celebration on
the Heat's home floor.
This one might have hurt the most for the Heat, especially with
the way they botched Game 6 and then frittered away a lead down the
stretch of Game 7.
"Losing all measures up to be the same -- it's bad all the
time," Mourning said. "It can't get any worse. It's all misery."
Sprewell led the Knicks with 24 points, 20 coming in the first
half. Ewing added 20 points and 10 rebounds and Childs scored 15
points in his best game of the postseason.
Mourning led the Heat with 29 points but missed three foul shots
in the fourth quarter when Miami was trying to increase slim leads.
The game was tied at 65 after three quarters to set up a fitting
final 12 minutes: Two teams, already having proven themselves so
evenly matched throughout this series, slugging it out possession
by possession with their seasons on the line.
Miami quickly went up by six by hitting their first three shots
of the quarter, and the only thing that kept the Knicks close over
the next five minutes was the hot hand of Childs, who scored New
York's first 10 points of the period, and the Heat's futility at
the line as they missed their first five foul shots.
As each opportunity to gain ground passed unsuccessfully, the
Knicks still managed to stay within striking distance. Two foul
shots by Childs, a missed drive by Mashburn and a layup by Ewing
cut Miami's lead to 79-77 with 3:26 left, and Larry Johnson made
two from the line with 2:55 left to tie it 79-all after Miami
committed its third 24-second violation of the quarter.
Sprewell made two from the line with 2:21 left for an 81-79
lead, and Hardaway responded with a 3-pointer to make it 82-81 with
1:32 left.
Those, however, would be the Heat's last points of the season.
"This was a very unique matchup," Heat coach Pat Riley said.
"A lot of respect has been gained by both teams for one another,
but as I said the other day, one team just sort of ran out of
clock."
Mourning was a force in the early going and Hardaway started
hot, too, as the two combined for all of Miami's first 18 points --
Mourning scoring 12 and Hardaway six -- before Dan Majerle hit a
3-pointer and then fed Weatherspoon for an alley-oop dunk and a
23-14 lead.
A 9-0 run by New York while Mourning was on the bench tied it at
29-29, and Sprewell had 12 points in the quarter before Mourning
even attempted his first shot -- a dunk with 3½ minutes left before
halftime -- that turned out to be his only shot of the quarter. The
Knicks closed the half with another 9-0 run for a 45-39 lead at the
break.
Miami's first three baskets of the second half were 3-pointers
as the Heat quickly caught up, but Ewing scored 10 points in the
quarter and New York led for most of it before settling for a 65-65
tie entering the fourth.
In 1998, the Knicks won the deciding Game 5 handily as the Heat
were without Mourning who was suspended for fighting with Johnson
at the end of Game 4. Last year, also in Game 5, it was Allan
Houston's shot with less than a second to play that bounced off the
rim and backboard before falling in.
"It's been very, very special to be a part of this the last
four years. To be able to beat them three straight years on their
home court is a terrific accomplishment for our guys," Knicks
coach Jeff Van Gundy said.
Game notes
The Knicks are 3-4 in Game 7s during the Ewing era. This
was only the second Game 7 in Heat history. They beat New York in
Game 7 of the second round in 1997. ... The respect between the
teams was at such a high level that old enemies Larry Johnson and
Mourning exchanged a fist slap prior to tipoff. ... Kurt Thomas and
Johnson of the Knicks drew technicals, Thomas for shoving Mourning
and Johnson for pushing away referee Danny Crawford's hand. ...
Miami's P.J. Brown fouled out of his second straight game,
finishing with nine points and five rebounds.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
New York Clubhouse
Miami Clubhouse
Pacers say they're excited to face Knicks again
Childs turns into 'The Man' for Knicks
Heat hot about officiating in loss to Knicks
New York vs. Miami
RECAPS
New York 83
Miami 82
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jeff Van Gundy and the Knicks leave Miami with a victory, again.(Courtesy: NBC Sports)
wav: 90 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Pat Riley tries to justify Miami's loss. (Courtesy: NBC Sports)
wav: 125 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Chris Childs says it was his responsibility to get the Knicks going.
wav: 140 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jamal Mashburn is upset with the officials Sunday.
wav: 167 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Tim Hardaway says officials should be held accountable.
wav: 104 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Alonzo Mourning is not satisfied with the way Miami's season ended.
wav: 200 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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