EASTERN CONFERENCE Fireworks could spice Heat-Hornets' Game 7

The length of the series has allowed hard feelings to fester.
MIAMI (AP) -- Miami Heat forward Lamar Odom would relish a chance to prove pundits wrong in the second round of the playoffs against the top-seeded Indiana Pacers.
"No one is going to give us a shot," Odom said. "But first things first."
Yes, first there's the minor detail of getting past the New Orleans Hornets. The tight, testy, 17-day playoff marathon between Miami and New Orleans concludes with a winner-take-all Game 7 on Tuesday night.
The Hornets are sure to try the intimidation tactics that helped them even the series Sunday.
"Things are going to get rough out there," Heat center Brian Grant said. "You have to try to keep your composure the best you can."
The weary, bruised series survivor will advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Pacers, with the opening game scheduled for Thursday night in Indianapolis.
Array of play
New Orleans-Miami has included the usual playoff pushing and poking, along with plenty of hard fouls and in-your-face venting, mostly from the Hornets. In the last two games, officials have called 11 technical fouls, eight on New Orleans.
"Game 7 is going to be even 10 times more intense," New Orleans guard Baron Davis said.
The length of the series has allowed hard feelings to fester. Bad blood was evident even on Monday's off day, when Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said he expects the Hornets to stay with the approach they've used all season.
"They have some guys who are big into the extracurricular activities, equating that with toughness," Van Gundy said. "You know, it's pretty easy to hit a guy after a play and call it toughness.
"What you have here are some very physical players, and you have a lot of cheap players. Cheap isn't physical. I can hit somebody on their way down after a play. That's not physical."
The Hornets have lived up to their nickname by being irksome pests. Davis enjoys sticking his head into Heat huddles, and even mild-mannered forward P.J. Brown has gone nose to nose with Odom and Dwyane Wade.
"That's all in bounds," Davis said. "You're going to talk, you're going to get confrontational, you're going to get up in somebody's face. If not, you don't need to be playing in this series."
While the Hornets are much more familiar with May basketball, neither team has thrived in winner-take-all games. The Hornets are 0-2, losing to Milwaukee in 2001 and to Philadelphia last year. The Heat are 2-4 and have lost three in a row, all at home to the New York Knicks, in 1998-2000.
Facts
Those results suggest Miami might be unwise to count on the home court making a difference against New Orleans. Still:
UThe home team has won every game in the series.
UThe Heat have won 15 consecutive home games.
UThe Hornets are 0-5 at Miami this season.
"The odds say they can't keep winning forever at home," Brown said.
The Hornets will again rely on their superior postseason experience -- more than 500 games, led by guard Steve Smith's 88. Grant is the only member of the Heat to play in a Game 7.
"Those guys hadn't been in an elimination game (before Sunday)," Brown said. "When you're trying to end a team's season, that is the hardest game to put away."
Both teams will now try to finish off the other, which is why Van Gundy stood before his players after Monday's practice and spoke not of bad blood or trash talk but of a moment to savor.
"Guys," he said, "it doesn't get any better than this."