Pistons, Heat look for edge

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons snatched away home-court advantage from the Miami Heat by splitting the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals on the road. That didn’t satisfy Chauncey Billups.

“We feel like we gave one away in Game 2,” Billups said Saturday. “We want to come out and validate that, and use that as motivation.”

With the Eastern Conference finals tied at a game apiece, the Heat also want to play with a sense of urgency when the best-of-7 series resumes tonight at The Palace.

Damon Jones said the Heat have to approach the game as if it is the most important one they’ll play this season.

“We’re going to put all our eggs into one basket going into Game 3,” Jones said.

Detroit, which will host the next two matchups and Game 6 if necessary, opened the series at Miami with a 90-81 win after six players scored in double figures and Dwyane Wade was held to 7-of-25 shooting.

The Heat responded with a 92-86 victory as Wade had 40 points and the Pistons shot 38.3 percent.

“We’ve got to go up there, get one or two,” Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal said after Game 2. “I know we can do it. We should be right back on track.”

O’Neal (thigh), Jones (heel) and Udonis Haslem (finger) did not practice Saturday in Miami while Richard Hamilton (calf) did not participate fully in the defending champion’s workout. All four are expected to play tonight.

“It’s affecting me because I’m shooting off one leg,” said Hamilton, who has scored 37 points on 15-of-43 shooting in two games. “I’m getting every shot I want, I just have to start making them.”

One day after Miami coach Stan Van Gundy said Detroit’s crowd was willing to do and say anything to distract the opposition, he didn’t want to revisit the topic with the same gusto.

“I’m not going to get into that,” Van Gundy said.

Detroit’s Rasheed Wallace said it was too late for Van Gundy to defuse the subject.

“That’s the wrong thing to say,” Wallace said. “That’s just getting fuel to the fire.”

The Palace has become an infamous venue since a Nov. 19 brawl, which started on the court between the Indiana Pacers and the Pistons before spilling into the stands and back on the court. In the playoffs, a fan was arrested for tossing a coin at Allen Iverson on Philadelphia’s bench.