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Struggling Knicks renew old rivalry with Heat

Feb 28, 2009 - 11:13 AM New York (24-34) at Miami (30-27) 7:30 p.m. EST

MIAMI (Ticker) -- They used to be heated, and hated, rivals. Now, they're just a couple of teams fighting for the postseason and searching for an identity.

The New York Knicks and Miami Heat renew what once was one of the league's most meaningful rivalries on Saturday.

While Miami has rebounded from a disastrous 2007-08 campaign to vault right into the thick of the playoff picture, New York is still on the outside looking in - with the No. 8 spot there for the taking.

These teams, of course, faced off in the playoffs four straight seasons at the end of the last decade -- epic series that not were not only heated from a basketball standpoint, but emotionally as well. Tempers often flared, things spiraled out of control and suspensions were handed out from time to time - and that spilled over into regular-season meetings as well.

Years later, that fervor has subsided. However, this meeting at Madison Square Garden remains extremely meaningful for both. The Heat are trying to climb into the conference's top four to secure home-court advantage in the first round, but find themselves 2 1/2 games back of Atlanta (33-25) following Friday's 91-83 loss to the Hawks.

The Knicks, meanwhile, are in 11th place in the East and 10 games under .500, but remain 2 1/2 games behind eighth-place Milwaukee for the last playoff spot. Any kind of serious run over the next few weeks may be the ticket for the Knicks. That said, a run of victories has been hard to come by lately - or, for that matter, any victories.

Following an impressive January, the Knicks have stumbled to a 3-9 February, which includes a six-game skid at the start of the month. They have dropped two straight, including a 108-103 setback against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.