http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1082626495241180.xml Thursday, April 22, 2004 John DeShazier MIAMI -- The company line is that the Heat merely did what they were supposed to do, hold serve on their court in the first two games of a playoff series to take a lead that's anything but insurmountable. "They did what they had to do," P.J. Brown said. Saturday, after all, brings about a new day and venue and Miami remains unproven as a road playoff team. But, for a moment, let's big-picture this situation. After a 93-63 loss to Miami on Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Hornets need to win four of the remaining five games to win the best-of-seven series. And New Orleans hasn't won four of five games of any kind since December. Oh, yeah, there also is this: They've never won a playoff series in which they've lost the first game, let alone the first two. Teams have crawled from an 0-2 pit before, but the Hornets who caved in against Miami didn't look like a team with climbing tools. Inside a somber locker room, there was little to be said. This was the kind of beating that should keep everyone involved -- from ownership to the last man on the bench -- sleepless until Saturday. "We got what we deserved," guard Darrell Armstrong said. "Health doesn't have anything to do with it." It was difficult to tell what has anything to do with anything after a game in which the Hornets were embarrassed and so bad (24.4 percent) from the field, it hurt to watch. If the plan was to play for pride or Coach Tim Floyd's job, it didn't work. New Orleans, which vowed to be a better team after its 81-79, last-second loss in Game 1 on Sunday, was significantly worse. And the Heat, who said they hadn't played their best, now have beaten New Orleans with their "B" and "C" games, and might be able to slide by with a D+. "We had a sense of urgency (Wednesday night)," Brown said when asked if his team would require that in two days. "We're pretty much going to have to play the game of the season Saturday." If, indeed, they have a game of the season left in them. Miami is younger, looks hungrier and has shown that talent can trump a lack of postseason experience when it's properly motivated, guided and channeled. And the Heat was all of that in the third quarter, when they handed the Hornets their stinger on a platter. New Orleans entered the third trailing 43-34 and exited it on a stretcher, past the point of resuscitation. Miami outscored the Hornets 23-10 to take a 66-44 lead into the fourth. The Hornets were nothing short of abysmal. They missed 17 of its 19 field-goal attempts en route to tying a franchise playoff low for points scored in a quarter. And that wasn't the end of the lows. The Hornets tied for the second-fewest points and field goals made (20) in NBA playoff history as Miami adapted seamlessly to the adjustments New Orleans thought it had made. The fast-break points weren't there (18-10 for Miami), so the Heat pounded the bigger Hornets inside, outscoring them 36-22 in the paint. Tunnel vision says this isn't over. That regardless of margin and momentum, the Heat has won a couple of playoff games on its home floor and the Hornets are capable of making something of this. But the big picture that looks bad today looked much worse Wednesday night. One team looked done, ready for its season to be over. The other appeared to be standing tall over a fallen foe. "Right now they're playing with a lot of confidence, and they should be," Armstrong said. "That team is energized." Saying the same of the Hornets would require a dizzying stretch of the imagination. . . . . . . . John DeShazier can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3410. --

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