Knicks, Heat Slug It Out Again

In an ending that was familiar and foolish, the New York Knicks and Miami Heat had another postseason fight that will have a major impact on their final game.

Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson were involved in a nasty, punch-filled melee with only 1.4 seconds left in the Knicks’ 90-85 victory Thursday night in Game 4.

This time, no one left the bench, but there will still be suspensions.

And this time, it will be Miami that stands to lose the most.

“One-point-four seconds to go. I can’t believe both guys would do that,” said Miami Coach Pat Riley, whose team had no chance of winning the game when the fight broke out. “I mean, we did what we had to do, came up, got a split, got back into the series after losing in Miami.”

“It reminds me of last year.”

Mourning threw the first punch, and then he and Johnson threw several more. Knick Coach Jeff Van Gundy bolted onto the court and grabbed Mourning’s leg, holding on even as he was being dragged along the floor.

NBA rules call for an automatic one-game suspension for players who throw a punch, so Mourning and Johnson will be forced to sit out Game 5 on Sunday.

“It’s a big game Sunday. I should have grabbed my composure, I should have known better,” Johnson said. “It was spontaneous, but I had time to do the right thing.”

It was an incredible ending to another hard-fought, physical game between the bitter rivals, whose second-round series last year featured a brawl at the end of Game 5 that led to five Knicks being suspended for one game each.

That incident ultimately ended up costing the Knicks their season, but now they have a chance to avenge it in the very same building where it happened.

“I made a big mistake. I let my teammates down,” said Mourning, who complained that Johnson had been hitting him all night.

Johnson and Allan Houston led New York with 18 points apiece.

Tim Hardaway scored 33 points for Miami and Mourning--playing without the face mask he had been wearing since fracturing his cheekbone--had 29.

Indiana 80, Cleveland 74--The Pacers made Larry Bird a winner in his first playoff series as a coach, surviving a scare from the Cavaliers at Cleveland.

The Pacers play the winner of the New York-Miami series in the second round.

Reggie Miller scored 19 points and grabbed two crucial rebounds to defuse a fierce Cleveland rally in the closing seconds.

The Pacers couldn’t stop Cavalier forward Shawn Kemp, who had 21 points and 12 rebounds and came close to single-handedly forcing a fifth game.

Indiana withstood a third-quarter rally by the Cavaliers, who have three rookies in the starting lineup. Kemp led them back again, scoring from way underneath the basket to cut it to 75-73 with 2:15 left before the Pacers pulled away for good.