NBA PLAYOFFS Home-court edge helps Heat outlast Hornets for 3-2 lead

Miami delighted 20,147 fans by winning its 15th straight game in Miami.
MIAMI (AP) -- The Miami Heat started poorly, battled foul trouble, argued with the refs all night, failed to contain Baron Davis and still won.
Credit home-court advantage.
Dwyane Wade's 3-pointer with 54 seconds left put the Heat ahead to stay, and they delighted 20,147 boisterous, black-clad fans by beating the New Orleans Hornets 87-83 Friday for a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.
The home team has won all five games, and the Heat have won 15 consecutive games in Miami. They can close out the series with a victory Sunday in New Orleans, but they're 13-30 on the road this season.
Game 7 Tuesday
If the Hornets win, Game 7 will be Tuesday in Miami. Awaiting the winner in the second round are the Indiana Pacers, who have been idle since completing a sweep of Boston last Sunday.
The Hornets fell to 0-5 in Miami this season, including a 30-point loss on their most recent visit. This one stung even more.
New Orleans led by 11 points in the first half, was up 58-49 midway through the third quarter and squandered a 33-point performance by Davis.
Wade and Eddie Jones sparked the comeback by the Heat, and they led 75-73 with 4 minutes left. The Hornets then missed three consecutive shots but rebounded each one before Davis hit a 3-pointer to again put his team ahead.
The Heat tied it twice, then got the ball back with less than 90 seconds left when Davis missed a 3-pointer. Lamar Odom passed in the corner to an open Wade, whose 3-pointer went swish as the 24-second clock expired.
Free throws seal it
Following a time-out, Darrell Armstrong missed two long jumpers -- the first of which was blocked by Caron Butler. Butler made three free throws and Jones added another with 14 seconds left to clinch the victory.
Jones scored 25 points and Wade had 21 for the Heat. They won despite a big foul disparity for most of the game and the ejection of backup point guard Rafer Alston late in the third quarter when he received his second technical foul.
The 11-point deficit was the largest Miami has overcome in a playoff game.
For the Hornets it was all Davis. He has limped through the series with ankle and knee injuries while playing so well that the Heat wonder whether he's really hurt, and the latest game was his best yet.
The All-Star guard was all over the court -- so active he ran out of his headband at one point. He finished 11-for-18 from the field, made three 3-pointers and had seven assists.
Davis needed just nine shots to score 20 points in the first half. The Heat increased their defensive pressure in the second half and scored the first six points of the final quarter, including consecutive baskets by Wade, for a 64-63 lead.
By then it appeared the Hornets were losing their cool. Coach Tim Floyd threw a red-faced stomping tantrum in reaction to a traveling call against his team and received a technical.
Odom hit a 3-pointer, and Jones' layup put Miami up 75-71. But Davis made two free throws, then hit his third 3-pointer to put the Hornets ahead.
Jamaal Magloire's basket gave New Orleans its final lead, 80-78 with 2:18 left.