Miami was a loaded team led by all-stars Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway and coached by Pat Riley. The addition of Mashburn boosted the team's offense, and the team finished the season with a franchise best 61 wins with Mashburn averaging 13.4 points in 30 starts. In the playoffs the Heat defeated the Orlando Magic in a difficult 5 games in the first round, followed by a grueling seven game series win against the New York Knicks. Miami made its first ever Conference Finals against the defending champion Bulls, and would lose the first three games of the series before managing a win in Miami in game four, with Mashburn scoring 17 points. The Bulls proved too much for the Heat and won the series in the fifth game in Chicago. Mashburn averaged 10.5 points in his first postseason.