1997–98 New York Knicks season

The 1997–98 New York Knicks season was the 52nd season for the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). During the offseason, the Knicks acquired Chris Mills from the Boston Celtics and Chris Dudley from the Portland Trail Blazers. At midseason, they traded Herb Williams to the Philadelphia 76ers for Terry Cummings. In the regular season, the Knicks had a 43–39 record, which placed them in a tie for second in the Atlantic Division. Despite their lowest winning percentage since the 1990–91 season, the team qualified for the NBA Playoffs as the seventh seed. They also hosted the 1998 NBA All-Star Game.

Contents

• East First Round
• East Conference Semifinals
• Awards and records
• References

The season saw All-Star center Patrick Ewing break his wrist trying to catch an alley-oop during a game against the Milwaukee Bucks on December 20. The injury kept Ewing out for the rest of the regular season and the entire first-round series against the Miami Heat. Ewing did return for game 2 against the Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals.

The 1998 NBA Playoffs matched the Knicks against the #2 seed Heat, who had eliminated the Knicks in the 1997 playoffs in a series that featured a brawl during Game 5. The altercation led to the suspension of six players, including five Knicks. In the 1998 series, another brawl occurred in the closing seconds of Game 4, which the Knicks won to even the series at two games each. Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning exchanged punches, and Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy clung to one of Mourning's legs at one point in an attempt to separate the two. Three players were suspended for Game 5, including Johnson, Mourning, and Mills, who left the bench during the fight. New York won Game 5 to advance to the second round, where it lost to the Pacers in five games.

Following the season, Charles Oakley was traded to the Toronto Raptors, John Starks was dealt along with Mills and Cummings back to the Golden State Warriors, and Buck Williams retired.