By Paul Levine May 28, 2006, 17:54 GMT
Los Angeles - Miami's Dwyane Wade was deadly from outside and Shaquille O'Neal was dominant inside to turn the Detroit Pistons upside down.
Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince (R) tries to get to the basket around the defence of Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (L) during the second half of their Eastern Conference finals game three at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida, Saturday 27 May 2006. The Heat defeated the Pistons 98-83 to take a two games to one lead in the best-of-seven series. EPA/RHONA WISE
Wade scored 35 points on 13-of-17 shooting, while O'Neal powered for 27 points along with 12 rebounds as the Miami Heat beat the Pistons 98-83 in pivotal game three on Saturday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
'We took it upon ourselves again to be the leaders of the team and find a way to get a win,' said Wade, who scored 10 points in a game-sealing 24-10 fourth-quarter run.
O'Neal was disappointed after the Heat failed to get the ball inside to him in the game two loss. So, the 7-foot-1, 330-pound centre made a plea to his teammates for more touches and it proved successful.
'I just told the guys, bring it to me, get me going, keep me going, and they did,' said O'Neal, who made 11-of-15 shots. 'I was aggressive and I was getting the ball where I wanted it to go, and I just tried to do what I do.'
Antoine Walker netted 11 points for Miami, which shot a sizzling 58 per cent from the floor (38-of-66), and dominated the boards, 40- 27.
Miami lost a tough seven-game series to Detroit in last year's conference finals, but can take a commanding 3-1 lead in game four Monday night before the showdown shifts back to Detroit.
'Monday is going to be huge, we have to take it like a game seven-type of game,' Walker said. 'We have a golden opportunity to go up 3-1 and put them behind the eight ball.'
Chauncey Billups scored 31 points and Richard Hamilton had 20 for Detroit, which shot an icy 42 per cent (27-84) from the floor.
'Today I had it going but all for nothing because they held everybody else down, and we didn't come away with the win,' Billups said.
That's was due largely to the outstanding play of Wade and O'Neal.
'They had unbelievable games today,' Billups explained. 'Those are their two horses and that's who they are going to depend on to win games. Tonight they came out and they were dominant. We have to find a way to slow them down. If they play like that the rest of the series, it's going to be some long nights for us.'
The two-time NBA champions know the importance of winning game four Monday night or go home with their backs against the wall. Only eight teams have ever rallied from a 3-1 hole.
'Monday's game is the biggest of the series,' Billup said. 'We have to come in with a sense of urgency. We're down 2-1 and we want to go home tied 2-2.'
Miami, which never trailed, held a 49-38 halftime edge behind 15 points apiece from Wade and O'Neal. By the end of the third quarter, Wade had 25 and O'Neal 23 as the Heat led 74-62.
The Pistons opened on an 11-0 run to close within 74-73 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Billups with 7:45 remaining that momentarily quieted the sold-out American Airlines Arena crowd.
Riley called a timeout to regroup, and his two superstars took control to ignite a decisive 24-10 run.
'We opened a shaky 12-point lead, and I never feel good about that because I've coached against them so many times where in two minutes they're back,' Riley said. 'It's either going to go 18 or six. It went to one.'
Wade blocked a potential go-ahead dunk by Antonio McDyess, then drove the other end for tough off-balance lay up and converted the three-point play. O'Neal followed with a hook shot in the lane to spark an 11-2 burst, giving the Heat an 85-75 cushion with 4:26 left.
'I thought the play of the game was when we're down one and we're making a run,' Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. Antonio McDyess has a dunk and Wade comes over to block it and makes a three-point play. Instead of us being up by one, we're down four.'
Hamilton made four free throws to bring Detroit within 85-79 with 3:49 left, but Wade replied with two foul shots and Walker hit Haslem for a jumper to restore a 10-point lead.
Billups pulled the Pistons within 91-83 with 2:15 remaining. But Wade made two free throws and a converted another three-point play to ice the win.
'They made their run, but we're a confident team and know things are going to happen,' Wade said. 'We called a timeout and we executed our offense. I scored on an 'And-one,' and then we took it from there.'
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