Standout guard Dwyane Wade wasn't his usual dominating self, but the Heat dominated the Pistons in an 88-76 victory at home Thursday to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final.
Averaging 30 points in the series, Wade only played 25 minutes on Thursday, having to come out twice in the second half with a strained rib muscle. But it didn't matter, as Miami played some smothering defence in the final two quarters to push the Pistons to the brink of elimination.
Miami can wrap up the series by winning Game 6 in Detroit on Saturday. The winner of this series will face San Antonio in the NBA finals after the Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference championship in five games.
Miami's Dwyane Wade drives past Detroit's Ben Wallace during the third quarter on Thursday. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
A preliminary report did not deem Wade's injury serious, although it's not known whether he will be available for Game 6.
"It's very, very painful," Miami coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It feels like he's being stabbed when he breathes. We'll just have to wait and see."
"I couldn't move in either direction, I could only go straight," said Wade. "Hopefully, me being young, I can recoup real quick and be ready for Game 6."
Detroit shot a meagre 38 per cent from the floor, compared to 52 per cent for Miami.
Shaquille O'Neal led the way for Miami with 20 points. Wade and Damon Jones finished with 15 points apiece. Udonis Haslem had his best game of the series with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Richard Hamilton netted a game-high 21 points for the Pistons. Chauncey Billups added 19 points.
Holding a slim two-point advantage after the opening 12 minutes, Miami held the Pistons to just 13 second-quarter points to take a commanding 53-39 lead into halftime.
Wade injured himself while executing a crossover dribble midway through the third quarter. He returned just before the start of the final quarter wearing a protective wrap around his midsection.
He was on the floor to start the fourth quarter, but was replaced with 9:42 remaining in the game as he was grimacing in pain.
With Wade out, the Pistons went on a 12-2 run to cut into Miami's lead, but the Heat roared back, holding Detroit to just 16 points in the final quarter as they cruised to the victory.
"Their energy was a lot greater than ours," Pistons coach Larry Brown said. "In Game 4 our big guys got four or five dunks on the break. We didn't see any of that tonight. They just played a lot better."
with files from Associated Press
