Heat is on Miami for Game 7
Monday, June 6, 2005
By ISRAEL GUTIERREZ
SPECIAL FROM THE MIAMI HERALD
Before Dwyane Wade asked out of Game 5 of the NBA's Eastern Conference finals with a painful rib injury, the Miami Heat looked like they were in complete control, bags half-packed and tickets to San Antonio nearly punched.
But Wade left that game, and didn't return Saturday for Game 6, either. Now, after being demolished on the Pistons' home floor, 91-66, and the series tied at three games each, the Heat enter a winner-take-all Game 7 with more questions than answers and more concern than confidence.
The Pistons dismantled the Heat without Wade, scoring 25 points on 19 turnovers. They kept the Heat to its franchise-postseason low in scoring, despite 24 points and 13 rebounds from Shaquille O'Neal.
If it wasn't obvious how vital Wade is to the Heat's success against the Pistons, it is now. And no one is certain Wade will be able to play tonight.
"I'm confident that he'll be playing, but if he doesn't, everybody has to step up and be themselves, including me," O'Neal said. "I know it bothered him a lot to sit out. But when you're on a team and one of your guys is out, someone or two or three people have to step up."
The Heat didn't get much from anybody other than O'Neal on Saturday, and most of that was due to Detroit's relentless ball pressure. O'Neal shot 11 of 18 from the field, so once he got the ball, he was productive.
But it was feeding him that looked nearly impossible. After managing to stay within a point at the end of the first quarter, the Heat had two meltdowns in the second quarter that all but decided the game.
The Heat took a 20-19 lead with 9:32 left in the first half on a Rasual Butler jump shot. But the Pistons answered with 13 consecutive points to jump on top, 32-20.
The Heat committed five turnovers in that stretch alone, with five Heat players committing them.
Still, the Heat were able to close to within 34-32 with 1:55 left in the half. That's when the second collapse of the period began.
The Pistons closed out the first half on a 10-0 run to take a 44-32 lead at the break.
The Heat never got within single figures again, and the Pistons will ride that momentum to Miami tonight.
"I would rather play an elimination game every game," said Richard Hamilton, who scored a Pistons-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting. "That's what I always loved about the NCAA tournament - there was no other game."
The Heat, meanwhile, enter the decisive game searching for a way to answer Detroit's pressure, with or without Wade.
"We got dominated," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We could not handle their defense."
Playing better would be a lot easier if the team's leading scorer plays tonight. Wade did not address the media after the game Saturday, but the last time he suffered a similar injury, he missed only one game.
O'Neal said he expects Wade to be ready to play, but he's not relying on it.
"Whoever's on the court, everybody needs to step up," he said.
One encouraging sign for the Heat is the play of O'Neal once he did have the ball Saturday. It was his most productive postseason game, and he seemed to show no effects of the thigh injury that has limited him throughout the postseason.
"I'm not really thinking about it," O'Neal said. "I'm still hindered a little bit, but I'm out there with the guys, and I'm taking a high percentage shot when they're not doubling me."
O'Neal's teammates are confident the center can carry the team to a win, with or without Wade.