Wade flashes usual style

MIAMI – They call him “Flash,” and Dwyane Wade certainly performed like a superhero in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Miami’s up-and-coming superstar had yet another impressive postseason performance Wednesday night, rediscovering his aggressiveness and taking over in the fourth quarter by scoring 20 of his 40 points as the Heat defeated the Detroit Pistons 92-86 to even the best-of-7 series.

This was the type of effort the Heat had grown accustomed to receiving from the 23-year-old during their consecutive sweeps of New Jersey and Washington in the first two rounds of the playoffs, and Wade was able to summon another burst of brilliance to avoid having his team head to Detroit down 2-0.

Wade scored 14 of Miami’s first 16 points in the final quarter, then raced in from behind and came up with a crucial blocked shot of Chauncey Billups’ 3-point attempt to help the Heat hold off the defending NBA champions.

“I watched a lot of film, listened to a lot of people and used everything my college coach and NBA coach told me, too,” said Wade, who shot 7 for 25 in Game 1. “They told me to come back with a good game. I was rushing some shots. I wasn’t being patient. Tonight I came out patient.”

The series resumes Sunday night, each team having asserted itself once.

Wade eclipsed 30 points for the sixth time this postseason. Shaquille O’Neal added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, and Damon Jones had 14 points.

Richard Hamilton scored 21 points and Tayshaun Prince had 17 for the Pistons, who came back from a 14-point deficit but were helpless to stop Wade when he decided it was time to take over.

“Dwyane has always been able to put things behind him and make adjustments. He’s very mature, and he’s not going to get beat mentally,” coach Stan Van Gundy had predicted.

Wade’s fourth-quarter outburst started as he opened the period with a bank shot and a driving dunk before O’Neal hit a jump hook. Wade scored Miami’s next 10 points on a tip-in, two 14-footers, a drive into the lane and an alley-oop dunk, the last of which put the Heat ahead 78-76 with 5:12 left.

Detroit tied it once more before O’Neal converted a three-point play with 3:59 remaining to make it 81-78 and put the Heat ahead for good.

After Alonzo Mourning blocked a shot by Ben Wallace, Wade converted a fast-break layup for a five-point lead. A basket by Billups and a miss by Wade gave Detroit a chance to tie, but Wade came up behind Billups and swatted away his 3-point attempt – a play that led to a fast-break layup by Jones that made it 87-80.

The Pistons scored the next four points and had one more chance to tie, but Rasheed Wallace missed a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left – one of 14 misses from behind the arc for the Pistons on a night when they fell too much in love with the long shot.

Detroit coach Larry Brown kept Prince on the bench for the entire second quarter, and Rasheed Wallace played only 2 minutes in the quarter.

Heat 92, Pistons 86

Detroit (86) – Prince 6-13 2-2 17, R.Wallace 4-12 6-8 15, B.Wallace 2-10 0-0 4, Billups 6-11 0-2 14, R.Hamilton 8-23 4-7 21, McDyess 1-4 0-0 2, Arroyo 1-2 2-2 4, Hunter 2-4 0-0 6, Campbell 1-2 1-2 3, Ham 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-81 15-23 86.

Miami (92) – E.Jones 2-8 1-2 6, Haslem 0-4 0-0 0, O’Neal 8-15 1-5 17, D.Jones 5-7 2-2 14, Wade 15-28 10-10 40, Dooling 1-7 1-2 3, Mourning 2-2 2-2 6, Butler 1-3 0-0 2, Doleac 0-0 0-0 0, Laettner 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 36-78 17-23 92.

3-Point Goals—Detroit 9-23 (Prince 3-5, Hunter 2-4, Billups 2-6, R.Hamilton 1-3, R.Wallace 1-5), Miami 3-11 (D.Jones 2-3, E.Jones 1-5, Butler 0-1, Dooling 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Detroit 52 (B.Wallace 14), Miami 54 (O’Neal 10). Assists—Detroit 17 (Billups 6), Miami 14 (Wade 6). Total Fouls—Detroit 26, Miami 23. Technicals—R.Hamilton, McDyess, Dooling, D.Jones. A—20,228. (19,600).