Hornets Happenings | The Butler Did It As Hornets Top Heat 93-87 In O.T.

This writer was unable to watch the first half of the Hornets–Heat contest live. I was coaching the 11-year-old Slidell Steel team, a Biddy All-Star squad competing in the 12-year-old Biddy International Tournament being held in Kenner, Louisiana this week.

When the last Steel game ended, I hurried into my car and flipped on the radio, and heard “...at the break, Hornets lead by 10, 40 to 30.”

"Great," I thought. "I only missed the first quarter. I should make it home to see most of the second half, as long as the traffic gods are kind."

Then I heard a commercial. And another commercial. And another and another.

"Lots of commercials for the quarter break," I noted to myself. "I am on I-10 headed east. Light traffic. Things are looking good."

Then the announcer came back on for the half-time analysis.

"Incredible!" I exclaimed in my head. "Thank you, Lord, for the inventor of the digital video recorder."

Just like their last game against the Utah Jazz, the Hornets had a tough time scoring in the first half against the Miami Heat.

But unlike that contest, in which the Hornets' opponents scored 66 in the first half, the opposing squad was unable to score either last night. New Orleans really was leading this slugfest 40-30 at halftime.

The Heat held New Orleans to a miserable 13 points in the second quarter. My Steel had scored 16 in their second period.

Of course, in that same second, the Heat only scored 11, their worst of any quarter this season. They were held to a combined 9-for-24 first-half shooting, with Dwyane Wade going 3-for-11.

The Hornets clinched a playoff spot thanks to a buzzer-beating 30-foot jumper by Rasual Butler and a solid effort by returning starter Peja Stojakovic, who was 5-of-12 from behind the arc.

Butler hit the game-tying three-pointer with no time remaining on the clock in regulation. Then David West, who had a rough night from the floor as he shot 8-for-22, hit the go-ahead jumper with nine seconds left in overtime, as the Hornets stunned the Miami home crowd of nearly 20,000, by stealing a 93-87 victory at American Airlines Arena.

Chris Paul finished with 26 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists for the Hornets.

The Heat's Dwyane Wade scored 32 before getting ejected with his second technical foul with 1.4 seconds remaining in overtime, and Michael Beasley added 25 for Miami.

The Heat remain a half-game ahead of Philadelphia in the race for the fifth postseason bid in the East and with the loss fell three games behind Atlanta for fourth..\

The Hornets held D-Wade in check for three quarters. The Heat had the lead only twice the entire contest, amounting to a total of 12 seconds of play time.

I made it in the back door of my house with just over three minutes left in regulation. With 2:14 remaining in the fourth quarter, Wade found teammate James Jones for a three-pointer in the corner.

That basket put Miami up 71-69. Then Wade connected with Jones for another trey with 1:03 left, and the Heat lead was 76-72.

Paul scored with 13 seconds left to cut Miami's lead to two, and when Wade made one of two free throws with 10 seconds left. This left the Hornets needing a three-pointer to tie.

On a broken play in which New Orleans used Stojakovic, who had all of the Hornets threes until that point, as a decoy, Butler bobbled the ball, took two dribbles, then let go his bomb that swished as time expired.

With 1:51 remaining in the overtime, the Hornets led by six when Wade made a three-point play. A long-range bomb from the "Flash" shortly tied the tally at 87 with 33 seconds remaining, but the Heat didn't score again.

West swished his go-ahead shot from the top of the key, and the Heat got the ball to their MVP hopeful, but Wade lost the ball off his own leg and never got a shot away.

Stojakovic, who scooped up the loose ball and was fouled by Wade, sealed the game with two free throws. Paul made a phenomenal steal on the following inbounds play and was fouled.

Wade then started his antics, and the referee must have had enough. He drew the T, Stojakovic sank the resultant foul shot, and then Paul went 1-for-2 from the line to complete the scoring.