Heat blaze new trail

MIAMI – A year ago, the Miami Heat simply weren’t good enough. Shaquille O’Neal knew it. Dwyane Wade knew it.

So Pat Riley fixed it.

And now, the Heat are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time.

O’Neal had 28 points and 16 rebounds and Wade – who spent part of his day in a hospital battling dehydration and flu-like symptoms – added 14 points as the Heat ended the Detroit Pistons’ two-year reign as Eastern Conference champions with an 95-78 win Friday.

“Our guys came tonight and put the hammer down,” said Riley, the Heat’s president and coach. “Period.”

His superstars didn’t have to do it alone. Jason Williams, one of Riley’s prized and numerous off-season additions, came up huge with Wade lagging in Game 6, scoring 21 points on 10-for-12 shooting.

The Heat await either Dallas or Phoenix in the finals, which start Thursday.

“We know right now, we still have a job ahead of us,” said Heat forward James Posey, another newcomer – like Gary Payton and Antoine Walker, two title-starved veterans – brought in last summer by Riley in a quest to surround his big guns with extra firepower. “We’re not going to get too high right now. We’re not going to get too low. Four more wins – that’s the most important thing.”

The party started early. Wade walked off with 1:45 left, right index finger raised before he slapped Riley’s hand. And after the final second ticked off, white streamers fell from the ceiling as the Heat players waved championship caps and T-shirts. Soon, though, O’Neal issued an expected warning.

“We’re not done,” he said.

Richard Hamilton had 33 points for Detroit, which finished the regular season with an NBA-best 64-18 record and came in confident after ending Miami’s season here a year ago in Game 7 – in part because Wade and O’Neal were battling injury.

Wade clearly wasn’t at his best.

O’Neal was. Hence, the difference. He made 12 of 14 shots, making sure this chance wouldn’t slip away.

“Miami played great,” Hamilton said. “They deserved it.”

The proud Pistons weren’t shy about showing their respect to the new East champs. Rasheed Wallace, who didn’t talk with reporters, hugged several Miami players before leaving the court.

“I don’t want to make excuses,” Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said. “They flat-out beat us.”

Added Tayshaun Prince: “Miami was definitely the better team.”

Detroit only shot 33 percent in the game, with Billups going 3 for 14 and Rasheed Wallace going 4 for 12. The Pistons were outrebounded 48-39 and let the Heat shoot 56 percent after insisting defense would be their top priority.

“We didn’t play how we play,” Pistons coach Flip Saunders said.

Wade was 1 for 6 with four points in the first half, but it didn’t matter.

O’Neal and Williams carried the early scoring load, helping stake Miami to a 47-36 lead at intermission.

Riley and owner Micky Arison stood arm-in-arm as they awaited the presentation of the Eastern Conference championship trophy from NBA vice president Stu Jackson.

Then Riley lifted the silver trophy as a sea of players’ hands reached in for a touch – with one notable exception.

“I only celebrate it,” O’Neal said, “when it’s really over. … The job is not done.”

Riley is taking his third team to the finals, after the “Showtime” Lakers of the 1980s and the blue-collar Knicks of the mid-1990s.

He came here a decade ago, envisioning a parade down Biscayne Boulevard.

He’s never been closer.