http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1083413149244710.xml Win is there for the taking, but Hornets can't snatch it Saturday, May 01, 2004 John DeShazier MIAMI -- There have been come-from-ahead losses during a season that has been chock full of disappointments and blemishes, and then there is what happened in Game 5 against the Heat on Friday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. How to describe having the wind sucked out of a game and, quite possibly, a season? Or to put into words the view of watching a team melt, going from being in position to close out on its home court to needing a victory to keep open for business in the playoffs? Or to explain how the team that should have poise down the stretch continues to lose it on the road, making it impossible to determine which squad possesses the wealth of playoff experience and whose key players only have these games, and this postseason, to log as the sum total of their experience? The Hornets had their hands around Miami's throat, and let go. They had the Heat choking and gasping and struggling as the life seeped from their season, and turned loose as if there's an NBA award for mercy. The result, an 87-83 Miami victory, gave the Heat a 3-2 series advantage and two chances to win one game and the best-of-seven series, beginning Sunday at New Orleans Arena. "We were playing the game we wanted to play," forward P.J. Brown said. "We definitely controlled the game. "I think it was ours to give away." And the Hornets gave it away, wasting a Baron Davis performance (33 points, seven assists, four rebounds and a steal) that was a lot less splendid in defeat than it would have been in victory. New Orleans led by 11 points in the first half, nine midway through the third quarter and five (63-58) entering the fourth. And there always was the feeling that the advantage was larger, that the cool and composed Hornets simply were dissecting Miami little by little and by the end of the procedure, the Heat would be unrecognizable. How, then, did it all unravel? How do these Hornets, who've had ample opportunities at this during the season, continue to find ways to fork over games? Well, shooting 7-for-27 (25.9 percent) and committing six turnovers in the fourth quarter doesn't help. Chucking up 3-pointers with reckless abandon -- six missed 3s in the final 49.7 seconds, a barrage beginning with Miami holding an 83-80 lead that was tenuous, given the fact the Heat was shaky (19 for 31) from the line -- doesn't, either. The Hornets led 80-78 on Jamaal Magloire's layup with 2:18 left and didn't score again until Steve Smith's 3-pointer about two minutes later. While Miami was making six foul shots and a 3-pointer (Dwyane Wade's 23-footer to beat the shot clock buzzer), the Hornets were hoisting 3s as if they were the only shots that would count. Not what one would, or should, expect of a team that is supposed to be maximizing its experience edge. "We pretty much controlled the game," Brown said. "We did everything we wanted to do. Except win the game." "We haven't really closed out," guard David Wesley said. "(The Hornets had poor) shot selection, turnovers. They did it down the stretch when they needed it." Which is what we should be saying today of the Hornets, rather than vice versa. There's no ignoring the fact that Miami is a more talented team, and it's not unreasonable to believe the Heat should be formidable at home, where they now have won 15 straight. But, for the record, let's not forget Miami was just happy to be here, that the Heat lost their first seven games of the season and at one time were 11 games under .500 and probably would have considered the season a success even if they'd been swept out of the playoffs. Now, Miami isn't just glad to be part of the process. It figures it has just as much right to advance as the Hornets, who could've quelled the uprising and broken Miami's spirit Friday, when the Heat seemed almost to be expecting to be extinguished. Miami barked at officials, lost its composure (guard Rafer Alston was ejected), watched Davis carve up its defense (he was 11 for 18 from the field) and was pounded on the boards (48-35). But the door was left ajar long enough for the Heat to slip through, a sorry act that the Hornets have perfected this season. "We lost the game," guard Darrell Armstrong said. "They got the momentum back." The Heat didn't get it back. The Hornets gave it back, something they should be as sick of doing as we are of seeing. . . . . . . . John DeShazier can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3410. --

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