Miami, May 10: The Miami Heat pull out an 85-77 Game Seven win over the New Orleans Hornets to advance the Eastern Conference semifinals. Caron Butler scored 23 points and pulled down nine rebounds, as the Miami Heat advanced to the second round of the playoffs with an 85-77 victory over New Orleans in the decisive seventh game of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series on Tuesday (May 4) at American Airlines Arena. Lamar Odom chipped in 16 points and nine boards for the fourth-seeded Heat, who will face the top-seeded Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals. Game 1 is scheduled for Thursday at Conseco Fieldhouse. Brian Grant collected 14 points and nine rebounds and Dwyane Wade contributed 12 points and seven assists for Miami.
The home team won every game in this opening-round set. The Heat have captured 16 in a row as the host, dating back to the regular season.


Steve Smith paced New Orleans with 25 points, thanks to a 5-of-7 performance from beyond the arc. P.J. Brown had 10 points and nine boards for the Hornets, who have never won a best-of-seven playoff series (0-6).


New Orleans guard Baron Davis managed just five points in 20 minutes of action. Davis bruised his tailbone and also experienced back spasms late in the first half and tried to play through the pain, but left for good midway through the third quarter.

Bureau Report