Miami rides Heat Wade

MIAMI – The Detroit Pistons threw their fifth defender of the series at him.

They loaded up with a zone defense almost the entire third period just to keep the ball out of his hands.

And then, less than a minute into the fourth quarter of a game that had no right to be this close, Dwyane Wade said enough.

So off a pass from Gary Payton, the Heat guard charged to the rim against three defenders, absorbed frightening contact from Pistons power forward Antonio McDyess, flipped the ball over his shoulder – and the reaction told the rest of the story.

The crowd’s roar let him know he had the two points.

The referee’s whistle told him there soon would be another.

A three-point play, and shortly thereafter, a 3-1 lead in these best-of-7 Eastern Conference finals after an 89-78 victory over the Pistons at AmericanAirlines Arena.

“I kept passing and passing,” Wade said of what had been one of his more passive stretches of the series and season. “Then, in the fourth quarter, I said I’m going to take over.”

As shaky as the Heat were at times Monday night – blowing a 14-point second-quarter lead and allowing a 29-11 Pistons surge that bridged the second and third quarters – it would take an even more monumental collapse to be deprived of their first trip to the NBA Finals.

Since 1981, the last 16 teams to take a 3-1 lead in the conference finals have advanced to the championship round.

For the Heat to fail to extend that streak they would have to endure their first three-game postseason losing streak since the 2000 first round against the then-Charlotte Hornets.

What made Wade’s 31-point effort so remarkable was that the third-year guard went 22 minutes, nine seconds without attempting a shot, a hidden-ball trick that began with 9:54 to play in the second quarter.

But when needed most, Wade produced.

“He’s special,” coach Pat Riley said. “We need every single ounce of energy he brings. And his talent is huge.”

The Pistons’ extremes against Wade reached the point where journeyman guard Maurice Evans at one point was given the defensive assignment, after Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince and Lindsey Hunter previously were assigned the challenge. Detroit then totally gave in to Wade’s one-on-one wonders and went to a zone almost the entire third quarter.

“Wade was phenomenal,” Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. “He right now is on an unbelievable roll. He’s making unbelievable plays.”

While the closing theatrics again belonged to Wade, with 12 of his points in the fourth quarter, his final act again was set up by center Shaquille O’Neal, who finished with 21 points and nine rebounds and nearly single-handedly put Detroit’s Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and McDyess in foul trouble. He created enough damage to offset his 5-of-15 wreck of an effort from the foul line.

Wade and O’Neal were supported by 16 points from power forward Udonis Haslem and another active effort off the bench from forward James Posey.