http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/ sfl-hornnote25apr25,0,7195533.story?coll=sfla-sports-heat 'Gentleman' Brown gets Sportsmanship Award By Ira Winderman Staff Writer Posted April 25 2004 NEW ORLEANS‧Through even the roughest of NBA battles, such as his infamous playoff tussle with Knicks guard Charlie Ward in 1997 while a member of the Heat, P.J. Brown has never lost his sense of perspective. On and off the court. Seven years after winning the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his off-the-court efforts in the community while with the Heat, the veteran power forward Saturday was named winner of the NBA's Sportsmanship Award for his play this season with the Hornets. "They're both wonderful honors," Brown said. "I am who I've always been. From when I had nothing, I'm still the same person." Unlike the citizenship award, which is voted by the media, the sportsmanship award is presented after a vote of fellow NBA players. Earlier selected as the finalist from the Central Division, Brown received 1,220 points in the weighted vote, including 95 first-place votes. Pacific Division finalist Elton Brand, the Clippers power forward, finished second with 1,139 points and 75 first-place votes. Rounding out the finalists were Grizzlies forward Shane Battier, the Midwest finalist, with 985 points, and Nets guard Kerry Kittles, the Atlantic finalist, with 880. In honor of Brown's selection, the NBA will donate $25,000 to the P.J. and Dee Brown Foundation, as well as $10,000 to charities designated by the other division winners. Brown was presented with the Joe Dumars Trophy by former Pistons All-Star center Bob Lanier in a pregame ceremony before the Hornets' 77-71 Saturday victory over the Heat at New Orleans Arena. Brown was not called for a technical foul or flagrant foul this season. "P.J. is one of the truly great people in this league and one of the great gentlemen," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It's always nice to see him get recognized. We have a lot of respect for him." Even at his most physical, Brown long has been respected by opponents, which made his 1997 melee with the Knicks' Ward in the 1997 Eastern Conference semifinals all the more out of character. "I don't think that'll ever be put aside," Brown said with a grin of the glaring blemish on his on-court conduct record. "In Miami and New York, that'll be on their minds for the rest of their lives." As for Saturday's game, Brown consistently pounded the boards, closing with 11 rebounds and six points. He helped forced Heat power forward Lamar Odom into 5-of-18 shooting and seven turnovers. "It's just physical," he said of Saturday's scrum. "They're a tough team and we know if we're going to win the series we've got to get down and dirty with them." A LYNCH REVIVAL After failing to grab more than two rebounds in either of the first two games, Hornets small forward George Lynch had 11 in Game 3. ... The 71 points scored by the Heat were a playoff record low for a Hornets opponent. ... The Heat's .329 shooting, 25 field goals and 12 assists also were playoff-record lows for a Hornets opponent. ... After recording 30 assists to 40 turnovers in the series' first two games, the Hornets had 19 assists and only 11 turnovers Saturday. Copyright c 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel --

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