http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/108245138168570.xml Heat's Wade fearless Rookie welcomes opportunity to take big shots for Miami Tuesday, April 20, 2004 By John Reid Staff writer MIAMI -- Time and time again as a child, Dwyane Wade stared up at his backyard basketball goal, ball in hand, and pretended he was about to take a last-second shot that would win or lose a big game. He would count down -- 10, nine, eight, seven, six . . . -- before releasing the shot that would bring him glory and his imaginary team victory. Wade remembers only the shots he made. When he missed he tried again. On Sunday, his basket with 1.3 seconds left secured an 81-79 victory over the Hornets for the Miami Heat in the first game of their first-round playoff series. The Miami rookie delivered in front of a sellout crowd of 20,102 at AmericanAirlines Arena. Wade drove around Hornets point guard Baron Davis, who was slowed by an injured right ankle, before hitting a 10-foot runner over center Jamaal Magloire. "It wasn't a time to get nervous. I've played basketball all my life," Wade said. "I think every shot is going in. When coach drew the play in the huddle I got excited. He put the ball in my hands, and I wanted to make him proud. "You got to take it as a personal challenge. You're going to hit some, and you're going to miss some. So there isn't a reason to be afraid." Wade hasn't been afraid of much since he was selected as the fifth pick in the 2003 draft after guiding Marquette to the Final Four in New Orleans. He has been on the fast track, starting 56 of 61 games and averaging 16.2 points for the Heat. Consistency is mostly what defines his rookie season. "As a young player in this league, I think he adjusts as well as anybody," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It's not always going to be him taking the final shot, but I don't have any fear putting the ball in his hands because he loves to be in that situation." When Wade had the ball with 11 seconds remaining, Davis cut off his penetration to the left and forced him to go right. But Magloire couldn't move over in time to block the shot. The Hornets also had a foul to give, but Davis got the defensive assignment on Wade, despite having five fouls. "Our plan was to foul," Coach Tim Floyd said Monday. "Everybody knew that was our plan coming out of that timeout. We obviously had a lot of different options and we didn't get it done, and that's the bottom line." Wade, 6 feet 4, finished with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-19 shooting. He had five assists and five rebounds. "He's so mature, and I think the fact that he's married with a kid has made him mature big time," Heat guard Eddie Jones said. "He just handled everything well, and he listens to veterans and has got an open mind to everything." Going into Game 2 on Wednesday night, Wade expects the Hornets will increase their defensive pressure against him to limit his drives to the basket. "I take it all in stride," Wade said. "Basketball is the most humbling of all sports. One day you can be on the top, and the next day on the bottom. So we have to be better prepared for Game 2." . . . . . . . John Reid can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3405. --

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