MIAMI (Ticker) -- Caron Butler, Lamar Odom and the Miami Heat came up big. Baron Davis and the New Orleans Hornets came up lame.
Butler and Odom carried the Heat into the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time in four years as they powered to an 85-77 Game Seven victory over the Hornets.
The Heat built a big early lead and nursed it while Davis - an All-Star point guard already hobbled by ankle and elbow injuries - sat out with a bruised tailbone suffered late in the second quarter. They withstood a late rally and won a Game Seven for the first time since 1997.
Playing in their first postseason, Butler and Odom took turns carrying the Heat. Butler did it early, scoring 11 of his 23 points in the first quarter. Odom did it with clutch baskets down the stretch, finishing with 16 points.
Miami also got a huge contribution from center Brian Grant, who had 14 points and nine rebounds while muzzling Hornets All-Star center Jamaal Magloire, holding him to six points.
Davis, the best player in the series, managed just five points and four assists in 21 minutes. He took a charge from Odom late in the second quarter and came up wincing before heading to the locker room. He did not start the second half and played just three minutes before packing it in.
But the biggest factor may have been the home court. Neither team lost at home in the series, with Miami notching its 16th straight home win and New Orleans going 0-6 at American Airlines Arena this season.
The fourth-seeded Heat advance to face top-seeded Indiana, which has not played since April 25 and hosts Game One on Thursday.
