http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1082626375241180.xml Heat defense stingy Thursday, April 22, 2004 By Jimmy Smith Staff writer MIAMI -- Defensively, one of the Heat's primary characteristics has been to clog the middle to deny easy baskets in the paint. "Everything they do is built around taking away the interior," Hornets coach Tim Floyd said. "They've been that way all year long." Longer than that, actually. P.J. Brown, who played for the Heat, said that always has been Miami's forte. That didn't stop the Hornets from going to center Jamaal Magloire, though. The first time New Orleans looked inside to Magloire on Wednesday night in Game 2 of their best-of-seven series, he was guarded by Brian Grant. Result: a short Magloire hook for two. But Magloire finished with nine points (four of 11) before fouling out with 3:13 remaining. TOUGH START: Brown missed his first five shots before finally making one with 3:21 remaining in the second quarter. It got no better, though. Brown was 2-of-12 on the night. QUICK START: The Hornets' David Wesley hit his first two shots of the game, two 3-pointers. He didn't make another basket the rest of the game, missing seven in a row. AT LAST: New Orleans didn't have one fast-break point in Game 1. The Hornets' Baron Davis got the first with 8:52 remaining in the first quarter of Game 2, racing by the Miami defense for a driving layup in transition. LOOKED OK: Hornets guard Darrell Armstrong, who sat out the last two days of practice to rest his sprained right ankle, checked into Game 2 for the first time at the beginning of the second quarter. He appeared to move freely and didn't seem to be hindered by the injury. BUT . . . : Play slowed down measurably in the second quarter. Through the first 6:34, the shooting was dreadful. The Hornets were 1-of-9, and the Heat were 2-of-11. For the quarter, Miami was 5-of-21 (23.8), and the Hornets 4-of-18 (22.2). The Hornets held the Heat to 15 points in the period, but scored 17. LOOKING FOR "O": In an effort to find someone on the floor to score, Floyd inserted Steve Smith into the lineup that started the second half, in place of George Lynch, essentially giving New Orleans a three-guard lineup: Davis, Wesley and Smith, along with Brown and Magloire. The change didn't help much. The Hornets missed their first seven shots in the quarter, made two of 19, and scored 10 points. That tied a franchise-low for points in a quarter in a playoff game. . . . . . . . Jimmy Smith can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3814. --

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