Heat and Knicks rekindle old-school rivalry with semifinals matchup

• Game 1 is Sunday at 1pm at Madison Square Garden.

Why it matters: It has been a storybook journey for the No. 8 Heat and superstar Jimmy Butler, whose offensive dominance and late-game magic has captured the imaginations of Miami fans who didn't have the highest hopes after the Heat barely made the playoffs.

Flashback: The most infamous moment of the rivalry was the 1998 fight between Miami's Alonzo Mourning and New York's Larry Johnson, which ended with Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy clinging to Mourning's leg. (There was a bench-clearing brawl the year before, too.)

• They last met in the playoffs in 2012, when the Heat easily beat New York in the first round en route to its first of two-straight championships of the Big 3 era.

Yes, but: The last meaningful playoff series between the two teams was in 2000, when the Knicks beat the Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern semifinals.

• "We understand the rivalry that they had back in the day. It's not the same," Heat point guard Kyle Lowry said, per the Sun Sentinel.

Of note: The No. 5 seed Knicks — led by point guard Jalen Brunson and forward Julius Randle — beat Miami in three out of four games this season.