MIAMI, Florida, 6 May 2004 — Miami’s Caron Butler and Lamar Odom carried the Miami Heat into the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time in four years as they powered to an 85-77 Game Seven victory over the New Orleans Hornets.
The youthful Heat built a big early lead on Tuesday and nursed it while Baron Davis — an All-Star point guard already hobbled by ankle and elbow injuries — sat out with a bruised tailbone suffered late in the second quarter.
They withstood a late rally and won a Game Seven for the first time since 1997.
“Nobody can look at this team and say that there is any fear in them or any quit in them or any choke in them,” Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said.
Playing in their first postseason, Butler and Odom took turns carrying the Heat. Butler did it early, scoring 11 of his 23 points in the first quarter.
Odom did it with clutch baskets down the stretch, finishing with 16 points.
Miami also got a huge contribution from center Brian Grant, who had 14 points and nine rebounds while muzzling Hornets All-Star center Jamaal Magloire, holding him to six points.
Davis, the best player in the series, managed just five points and four assists in 21 minutes.
He took a charge from Odom late in the second quarter and came up wincing before heading to the locker room.
He did not start the second half and played just three minutes before packing it in.
Butler, Odom and Grant had nine rebounds each, helping the smaller Heat to a 44-40 advantage on the glass. Miami also committed just eight turnovers while forcing 21. But the biggest factor may have been the home court.
The fourth-seeded Heat advance to face top-seeded Indiana, which has not played since April 25 and hosts Game One on Thursday.
In Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett received a rude reminder from the Sacramento Kings that the MVP is a regular-season award.
The Kings clamped down on Garnett and rode 33 points and clutch play from Mike Bibby to a spirited 104-98 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opener of their Western Conference second round series.
On Monday, Garnett was announced as the overwhelming winner of the NBA MVP. In a pregame ceremony on the Target Center court, the slender 7-foot superstar was presented with the Maurice Podoloff Trophy by NBA Commissioner David Stern.
Garnett hoisted the trophy, invited his teammates onto the floor and thanked team owner Glen Taylor, his family and the fans.
He then received an unceremonious welcome to the second round by the playoff-tested Kings, who won a road game for the seventh straight series.
Sacramento swarmed Garnett with double-teams, even on some occasions when he did not have the ball.
He tried to play through it but made just 6-of-21 shots while committing six turnovers.
At the other end, Bibby was torching the Timberwolves with 3-pointers and dribble drives. He scored 14 points in the first quarter to set a tone but saved his best for the stretch.
