[SunSentinel] C. Butler, Odom rub out bad Game 1 memories
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C. Butler, Odom rub out bad Game 1 memories
By Harvey Fialkov
Staff Writer
Posted April 20 2004
MIAMI -- A day after holding on to a much-needed 81-79 victory
in Game 1 of a first-round playoff series with New Orleans,
Caron Butler and Lamar Odom were lying on adjacent massage
tables at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Heat starting forwards were getting the knots rubbed out of
their bruised bodies after nearly allowing the Hornets rub out a
12-point lead in the fourth quarter.
"We were like man, 'We got our first win' and [Odom] was like,
'Yeah, it's crazy,'" said Butler, who scored 12 points and had
five steals, as well as a potential game-saving deflection in the
waning moments. "It's unbelievable. We got our first playoff win."
Both 24-year-old millionaires have traveled a well-chronicled
bumpy route filled with potholes on their way to their first NBA
postseason.
"We feel good about it. It feels good to be here, to get here,"
said an emotional Odom, who had his customary 17 points, 11
rebounds and five assists, as well as a crucial block of a Baron
Davis drive with 13.9 seconds left. "It was [a long road] off the
court for both me and Caron.
"Caron is a man I respect for what he's been through, far removed
away from basketball. [Butler was arrested 15 times before he was
15 in a troubled youth.] ... To come in here and win and play in
the playoffs, it's kind of special for both of us."
As for on the court, the only seven Odom wants to see on Wednesday
is the one on his jersey and not in the turnover column next to his
name. The seven turnovers, including two in the final 1:44, is the
second most by a Heat player in the postseason, two behind Tim
Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning's record of nine.
"Instead of doing what comes naturally, in the fourth quarter I was
trying to play perfect and wound up still turning it over," Odom
said.
Interior design
Clearly, one of the keys to a Heat victory in this series, is how
the undersized bigs -- Udonis Haslem, Brian Grant and Odom -- deal
with the taller, stronger Hornets trio of Jamaal Magloire, P.J.
Brown and 284-pound Robert Traylor.
While the Heat did match the Hornets in the rebound column (51),
and contain Magloire to 14 points and 11 rebounds and Brown to 10
and 11 respectively, New Orleans outscored the Heat 15-9 on
second-chance points.
"Every time you take away one thing, chances are you're going to
give away something else," said Haslem, who had seven points and
six rebounds in 29 minutes. "My main focus was taking away their
interior scoring and staying between those guys and the basket.
And keeping them off the boards."
Van Gundy wants to get a foul-plagued Grant, who has 2 points in
23 minutes of play, more involved into the offense.
Wade vs. Davis
Oft-injured Heat rookie Dwyane Wade wasn't about to be distracted
by the condition of Baron Davis' balky left ankle as he drove past
him for the game-winning floater with 1.3 seconds left.
"He's on the court like everybody else," said Wade, who outscored
the two-time All-Star 21-17. "He was moving OK on that last play
and he made me go the other way.
"I'd seen him fall and twist his ankle but at the same time I saw
him out there on the court hitting 3s in our face. As long as he's
on the court, I'm going to continue to play."
Harvey Fialkov can be reached at hfialkov@sun-sentinel.com.
Copyright c 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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