NBA playoffs: Heat may get burned

MIAMI — Welcome back to the Eastern Conference finals, where a day can't go by without more news on the Larry Brown-to-Cleveland front, or more questions about Shaquille O'Neal's never-ending thigh injury.

But with the Heat now just one win from its first NBA Finals berth, after its convincing 88-76 victory over the Pistons last night, both of those stories pale in comparison to Dwyane Wade's status. When the Heat tries to clinch a matchup in the Finals against San Antonio in Game 6 tomorrow night in Auburn Hills, its second-year star will be playing with a strained rib muscle that KO'd him for the final 9:38 — if he can play at all.

"I have absolutely no idea," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said when asked if Wade will be available for Game 6. "It's very, very painful. He feels like he's getting stabbed when he breathes. We'll just have to wait and see."

Wade felt a twinge in his back while elevating for a three-point shot in the final five minutes of the third quarter. When he returned for the fourth, he wore a flak jacket. But early in the quarter, after hitting the floor while trying to draw a foul on Rasheed Wallace, he had to leave the game for good after scoring only 15 points.

Wade said any movement to his right or left produces sharp pain. He doesn't know if he will play.

"Being young, hopefully I can bounce back real quick," he said. "Right now, I'm just feeling pain. Hopefully, I'll feel better in the morning."

This was a night when the Heat didn't need Wade's scoring or fourth-quarter heroics. Led by Damon Jones and seldom-used Rasual Butler, the Heat's role players stepped up and gave O'Neal all the help he needed. Butler had 13 points in the first four games, but he delivered 12 last night. Jones nearly doubled his series average of eight points per game by scoring 15.

"They had a lot of people step up and make huge contributions," Brown said. "Their energy was better than ours."

It started in the middle with Shaq. After scoring only 12 points in Game 4, his 2005 playoff low, he rebounded with a strong performance after only one day of rest. He's still not near what he was even a year ago, but he scored 15 in the first half, when the Heat used an 11-0 run to take a 14-point halftime lead. Getting only two points from foul-plagued Rasheed Wallace, the Pistons never made a serious run, as they trailed by 20 early in the third.

O'Neal scored 20 points. The fact he was no factor defensively, grabbing only five rebounds in 33 minutes and challenging few drives, didn't matter. All that matters now is how fast Wade heals and how well O'Neal recovers on virtually no rest.

Beforehand, Brown acknowledged what has been known for days, that he has talked to the Cavaliers about their president's position. For the last week he had basically denied that the Cavaliers had even existed, much less that he had talked to them. His admission came several hours after new Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert said at the news conference to introduce new coach Mike Brown that "no deal has been struck" with Larry Brown. However, Pistons executives and people close to Brown are adamant that he will leave to take the Cleveland job shortly after the season ends.

That could be as soon as tomorrow.