1996-1997 Miami Heat: Determination and Long Range

July 5th, 2026
By Marneen Zahavi
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Starting their journey in the NBA in the 1988-1989 season the Miami Heat didn’t have much of a basketball culture when starting their franchise. There was no past teams to look back for referencing, so whatever they did as a team made up the history of professional basketball in South Beach. It just so happened that the Heat acquired enough talent to make themselves a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference, and this was especially the case in the mid to late 1990’s.

In the 1996-1997 NBA season the Miami Hetat went 61-21, winning the Atlantic Division by 4 games over the New York Knicks. The Heat went 29-12 on their home court of the Miami Arena but did even better on the road as they went 32-9. The Heat went 16-8 in divisional play.

Point guard Tim Hardaway was one of the better handlers of the basketball when directing traffic for his team. Hardaway had 1,644 points, 277 rebounds, 695 assists and 151 steals, making 203 of 590 3-point shots and 291 of 364 free throws. Center Alonzo Mourning had 1,310 points, 656 rebounds and 189 blocks, making 473 of 885 field goal shots and 363 of 565 free throws. Shooting guard Voshon Lenard had 897 points and made 183 of 442 3-point shots and 86 of 105 free throws. Center Isaac Austin had 792 points and 478 rebounds, making 321 of 639 field goal shots and 150 of 226 free throws. Power forward P.J. Brown had 761 points, 670 rebounds and 98 blocks, making 161 of 220 free throws.

Shooting guard Sasha Danilovic had 486 points and made 63 of 176 3-point shots and 73 of 94 free throws. Small forward Jamal Mashburn had 428 points and made 48 of 146 3-point shots and 88 of 117 free throws. Small forward Dan Majerle had 390 points and made 68 of 201 3-point shots and 40 of 59 free throws. Small forward Keith Askins had 384 points and 271 rebounds and made 69 of 172 3-point shots and 39 of 58 free throws. Point guard John Crotty made 20 of 49 3-point shots and point guard Gary Grant made 14 of 46 3-point shots.

The Heat would constantly prove throughout the course of the regular season that they were legitimate contenders because of how consistent they were in winning basketball games. There were 3 separate winning streaks that put the Heat on the map. They would first enjoy a 9-game winning streak which began with a 104-86 win over the Denver Nuggets on November 19, and it ended with a 101-79 win over the Dallas Mavericks on December 4.

The 2^nd of 3 long winning streaks turned out to be the best winning streak for the Heat as they went on an impressive 11-game winning streak. This streak began with a 125-97 win over the Phoenix Suns on January 27, and it would end with a 92-87 win over the New Jersey Nets on February 20. Miami’s 3^rd solid winning streak was an 8-game winning streak which began with a 108-93 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on March 11, and it would end with an 83-79 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 28.

The Eastern Conference Quarterfinals was a back and forth dog fight of sorts in the Sunshine State of Florida as the Miami Heat would go the 5-game distance with the Orlando Magic. In Game 1 on April 24 at the Miami Arena the Heat crushed the Magic 99-64. Voshon Lenard had 24 points and 3 assists and made 6 of 9 3-point shots. Dan Majerle had 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists and made 3 of 8 3-point shots.

In Game 2 on April 27 the Heat beat the Magic 104-87. Tim Hardaway had 20 points, 11 assists and 3 steals and made 2 of 8 3-point shots. Alonzo Mourning had 17 points and 9 rebounds. P.J. Brown had 17 points and 6 rebounds. The Heat would drop the next 2 games of the series as the Magic would win Game 3 on April 29 by the score of 88-75 at the Orlando Arena, and then the Magic won 99-91 in Game 4 on May 1.

In the deciding Game 5 on May 4 at the Miami Arena everything worked out just fine for the Heat as their determination and long range shooting carried them through to a 91-83 win. Mourning had 22 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks. Lenard had 19 points and 3 rebounds while making 4 of 9 3-point shots. Brown had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Hardaway had 11 points and 11 assists.

The Heat would then go the 7-game distance with a team that would become a huge rival of theirs. The Heat would somehow outlast the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals 4 games to 3. The Knicks would win Game 1 on May 7 at the Miami Arena by the score of 88-79.

In Game 2 on May 9 the Heat bounced back to win 88-84. Hardaway had 34 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists while making 5 of 8 3-point shots. Mourning had 24 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks. The Knicks would then win the next 2 games of the series as they beat the Heat 77-73 in Game 3 on May 11 at Madison Square Garden, and then beat the Heat 89-76 in Game 4 on May 12.

Down 3 games to 1 the heat had to battle back, and because of their determination and long range shooting skills they were able to do just that. In Game 5 on May 14 at the Miami Arena the Heat beat the Knicks 96-81. Lenard had 21 points and 3 rebounds while making 2 of 3 3-point shots. P.J. Brown had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Hardaway had 16 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. In Game 6 on May 16 at Madison Square Garden the Heat won 95-90. Mourning had 28 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Hardaway had 20 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals while making 3 of 8 3-point shots. Majerle had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists while making 4 of 8 3-point shots.

In the deciding Game 7 on May 18 at the Miami Arena the Heat beat the Knicks 101-90 to eliminate them from the playoffs. Hardaway had 38 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals while making 6 of 10 3-point shots. Mourning had 22 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 blocks. Majerle pulled down 9 rebounds and Jamal Mashburn pulled down 7 rebounds in this game.

Unfortunately for the Heat, just as it had been in the previous year’s playoffs, they ran into a dominant force in the Chicago Bulls, one of the best championship teams in NBA history. In the Eastern Conference Finals the Bulls eliminated the Heat 4 games to 1. In Game 4 on May 26 at the Miami Arena the Heat beat the Bulls 87-80. Tim Hardaway had 25 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists while making 5 of 13 3-point shots. Alonzo Mourning had 18 points and 14 rebounds. Jamal Mashburn had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists while making 2 of 4 3-point shots. It was their determination and their willingness to shoot from long range that helped basketball fans recognize this edition of the Miami Heat. For individual awards a few players would be honored. Tim Hardaway would be named to the All-NBA 1^st Team. P.J. Brown would be named to the NBA All-Defensive 2^nd Team. Isaac Austin would win the Most Improved Player award. Head coach Pat Riley would be named the NBA Coach of the Year. The Heat would be back in the thick of the playoff hunt the next few seasons.