Jason Williams had a near perfect night from the field on the way to 21 points for the Heat, who won the Eastern Conference finals in six games and will face either Dallas or Phoenix in the title series starting next Thursday.
Williams made his first 10 shots and went 10-of-12 from the field to carry the Heat. Miami shot 55.7 percent from the floor, which included a 12-for-14 effort from O’Neal.
"I only celebrate when it’s really over," O’Neal said. "I’ll celebrate a little bit, but like I told the guys, the job is not done."
Wade missed Game 6 of the 2005 East finals against the Pistons with a rib injury, and the Heat lost the last two contests of the series. This time, the All-Star guard didn’t let his health prevent him from helping the Heat to the NBA Finals.
"At 3 a.m. is really when I woke up and I knew I wasn’t going back to sleep. I tried to do what I can," Wade said. "My wife was giving me the vapor rub and everything she could."
Wade missed the Heat’s morning shootaround and was given intravenous fluids at a local hospital, but still started Friday’s game. Although he had just four points by halftime and didn’t come out right away for the start of the second half, Wade made a big impact late in the third quarter. He scored 10 points during a late flurry, including Miami’s last eight, as the Heat took a commanding 72-53 lead going into the fourth and led by double digits the rest of the way.
Richard Hamilton had 33 points for the Pistons, who lost an elimination game for just the second time (8-2) since 2004. Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince each added 10 points, but Detroit shot just 33.3 percent.
"He struggled to get into any flow," Detroit head coach Flip Saunders said of Wallace. "He’s one of those guys, we were trying to go to him hoping that he would. We fell behind so much it really took a little bit out of what we could do offensively."
Miami’s Pat Riley became the second head coach in NBA history to lead his team to the Finals during three different decades. He led the Lakers to the title series during the 1980’s and then engineered the New York Knicks in the 1990’s.
"I’m just an old codger now," Riley said. "There’s a lot of guys in that locker room, a lot of stories in that locker room, and they’re very motivated about this opportunity."
Wade shot 5-of-6 from the field in the third before the Pistons made a small run to get within 13 midway through the fourth. Tony Delk’s layup had Detroit within 84-71.
The Heat then finished strong. Williams drained a jumper and James Posey hit a three-pointer to increase the lead to 89-71. Antoine Walker buried another three, then flashed his trademark celebratory shimmer, as the Heat put the game away, ahead 92-74 with under three minutes remaining.
Wade left the court to a standing ovation with 1:45 to play, ending a whirlwind day for the guard.
"I was sick," Wade said. "Just like anybody else that got the flu, throwing up. I never really throw up, so it was a change for me. Sore throat, very very bad."
The Pistons, who lost to San Antonio in last year’s NBA Finals, were hampered from the beginning. The Heat 68.8 percent in the opening quarter, compared to 7-of-20 for Detroit, but the Pistons only trailed 25-20 going into the second.
A 10-2 push by Miami moved the advantage to 40-27, with Gary Payton’s layup capping the spurt with under four minutes left until halftime.
O’Neal had 19 points and nine boards by the break, as Miami built a 47-36 lead. He finished the game with five blocks.
The Pistons, who were trying to get the NBA Finals for the third straight year, had plenty of shooting problems, most notably Chauncey Billups, who had nine points on 3-of-14 from the field.
Game Notes
The team that wins the Western Conference will have homecourt advantage in the NBA Finals...The Pistons had won 11 of their last 13 elimination games and were 3-0 in such situations entering Friday’s contest. They lost a Game 6 for the first time since 1991...Miami has won the last 23 postseason games in which it has led at halftime...Riley has never lost a playoff series (12-0) when holding a 3-1 series lead...Miami is 8-1 at home in this year’s playoffs..Walker had 11 points, while Posey had 11 rebounds for Miami, which outrebounded Detroit, 48-39...The Pistons had just seven turnovers.
Detroit Pistons 
Miami Heat 
