Friday, May 26, 2006
Detroit held off a late Miami rally to win 92-88.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- The start, story line and result were different.
Tayshaun Prince scored 24 points, Richard Hamilton had 22 and the Detroit Pistons bounced back -- as usual -- and held on to beat the Miami Heat 92-88 Thursday night in Game 2, evening the Eastern Conference finals.
Detroit got off to a great start after an awful one in the opener. Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade's supporting cast was lackluster following its outstanding performance.
The Heat made it close with a frantic rally, but the conference finals rematch is now a best-of-five series, with Miami headed home to host Game 3 on Saturday night.
Wade had 32 points and seven assists, while O'Neal was dominant with 21 points and 12 rebounds. But they didn't get much help.
Large lead
Detroit, which led by as much as 14 points in the first half, went ahead 57-39 early in the second half on Hamilton's layup after Chauncey Billups scored his first points on a 3-pointer and a layup.
A 10-2 run pulled Miami within six points midway through the fourth quarter. Rasheed Wallace's 3-pointer gave the Pistons an 81-71 lead with 2:41 left.
While thousands of fans headed home, Miami wasn't ready to concede.
Wade's 3-pointer with 9.8 seconds left made it 90-88, then Billups made two free throws on the ensuing possession and Lindsey Hunter made a steal to seal the victory.
The Heat had won four straight road games and five in a row overall.
Billups had 18 points and eight assists, Rasheed Wallace scored 16 and Ben Wallace added nine points and 12 rebounds.
Miami beat Detroit 91-86 in Game 1 and snatched home-court advantage away from the top-seeded team in the NBA playoffs.
The Heat's new-look surrounding cast came through Tuesday night -- while its superstars were in foul trouble -- with Antoine Walker, Gary Payton and Jason Williams combining for 41 points.
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