http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/ sfl-heatnb21apr20,0,1529545.story?coll=sfla-sports-heat 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 [email protected]. Copyright c 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel --

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