/ STAFF WRITER
ATLANTA – Two days after Christmas in 1988, the Atlanta Hawks hosted the New York Knicks, a battle between two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Doc Rivers, then a guard for the Hawks, chased down a rebound past the end line, getting a shove in the back from Knicks’ tough guy Charles Oakley. As Rivers’ momentum carried him toward the seats, he grabbed the ball and tossed it back toward the court, hitting Oakley.
The fight was on.
Oakley threw the ball back at Rivers. Rivers stepped to Oakley and got in a shove, and Oakley pushed Rivers away.