Miami, FL (Basketball News) - Shaquille O’Neal scored 20 points to lead Miami to an 88-76 win over Detroit in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Dwyane Wade had 15 points for the Heat but spent the majority of the fourth quarter in the locker room as he was being treated for a strained rib muscle.
"It’s painful," said Wade. I’ll take the medicine that the doctors gave me and hopefully it goes away a little bit."
Miami, which grabbed a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series, can now wrap up the set and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history when the teams travel to The Palace for Game 6 on Saturday night.
Wade first left the game with 5:08 left in the third quarter after taking a charge from Rasheed Wallace, although it was reported that the injury occurred prior to that play. The All-Star guard was examined in the locker room and was fitted for a flak jacket before returning to the court for the start of the fourth period.
"I took the charge because I couldn’t move,’ said Wade. "Actually I was glad he was coming at me. I wanted to stop play anyway, so I think it was a good way to go out.
However, after just over two minutes of action, Wade appeared to still be in pain and motioned to the bench where he was quickly taken out. Wade was then immediately escorted back to the locker room, where he was grimacing and holding his side.
"I tried to come back because we have a lot of guys on our team playing through a lot," said Wade. "I tried to come back and see if I get out there and get going that it will feel better, but I couldn’t and I didn’t want to make it any worse. I had confidence that my team could get this victory, and they did."
After further tests, the preliminary report did not deem the injury serious, although Wade will be further evaluated and is listed as day-to-day.
"I feel that our staff will do everything in their power to get me prepared for the game (on Saturday night). If I feel that I can go out and help my team, I will play. If I feel that I’m going to go out there and hurt my team, then I won’t. I’ve got all the confidence in the world with me being young, that hopefully I can bounce back from this," said Wade.
Damon Jones also netted 15 points while Udonis Haslem finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds in the win.
Richard Hamilton had 21 points and Chauncey Billups contributed 19 for the defending world champion Pistons, who now must win two straight games to get back to the NBA Finals and have a chance to defend their title.
"The crazy thing about it is we play better in these types of situations and right now its either win or go home," said Hamilton.
Detroit struggled from the field as it was held to only 39 percent shooting (30-of-78), while the Heat made matters worse by hitting on 36-of-69 field goal attempts (52 percent).
"Their effort was phenomenal, I thought defensively especially," said Detroit head coach Larry Brown. "They fronted the post and fought harder to defend us to get position."
In addition to the Pistons cold shooting and poor defensive effort, Rasheed Wallace, who came into the game averaging 17 points, was held to only two on 1-of-3 shooting as he battled foul trouble throughout the game.
Despite having O’Neal and Wade each pick up two early fouls, Miami led 28-26 after a competitive first quarter and quickly expanded the advantage in the second.
"I thought right from the get-go, even though we were only down 28-26, their energy was a lot better than ours," said Brown.
Detroit struggled to begin the period, as it scored just two points over the first six minutes and the Heat took advantage of their opposition’s slow start. Miami used a 9-2 spurt over that stretch, keyed by four points from O’Neal, to build a 37-28 advantage.
The Pistons did pull within three points late in the period, but Miami would not let the game get any closer.
The Heat closed out the half by scoring the final 11 points to head into the locker room with a comfortable 14-point edge. Wade highlighted the late flurry with four points while Rasual Butler added a three-pointer as Miami carried a 53-39 lead into the intermission.
In the critical second period the Heat outscored Detroit 25-13.
O’Neal netted 15 first-half points for Miami, which shot 53 percent from the field and made 11-of-13 free throws before the break. Billups scored 11 for the Pistons, who hit on only 41 percent of their attempts in the opening 24 minutes.
"I just wanted to come out and play aggressive," said O’Neal. "Tonight I played real aggressive."
Detroit was plagued by seven turnovers over the first two quarters, which was one more than they had in the entire Game 4.
The Heat opened the third period in strong fashion and pushed their margin to 63-45 on Haslem’s tip-in with 7:15 remaining. Wade’s jumper just under two minutes later extended the edge to 20, but the Pistons came roaring back courtesy of a 14-4 burst, which was aided by Wade’s departure from the game.
During the run, Billups had five points and Tayshaun Prince added three as the lead was cut to 69-59 with just under three minutes to play in the quarter. Miami, though, settled down and eventually led 73-60 after 36 minutes.
Haslem’s field goal nearly three minutes into the fourth period made it 78-62 and the Heat were able to cruise from there.
"Obviously a good, hard-fought win for us," said Miami head coach Stan Van Gundy. "We primarily did it with our defense and I thought our guys fought real hard."
If the Pistons can win Game 6, the deciding seventh game would be played Monday night back in Miami, where the Heat are now 6-1 in the playoffs.
Detroit Pistons 
Miami Heat 
