DETROIT, Michigan, 31 May 2005 — Eddie Jones scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter Sunday as Miami posted a 113-104 victory over Detroit to recapture home court advantage in the National Basketball Association Eastern Conference finals.
The defending NBA champions Pistons recovered from blowing a double-digit lead in the second half to win the series opener in Miami.
But the Heat have rebounded to win the last two games to take a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-seven series.
Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal looked unstoppable in the first half, and the Heat led by as many as 10 points in the third quarter before the Pistons rallied.
The Pistons opened the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run and took an 86-81 lead when Wade went to the bench with his fifth foul with 7:57 remaining.
But Jones showed his leadership by scoring nine points in an 18-5 surge.
“I just knew I had to be aggressive,” said the 11-year veteran, who started the burst with a three-pointer with 7:43 left, added another shot from the arc and also had driving layup and free throw in the run.
During the Heat’s spurt, the Pistons lost their composure, with both Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups picking up technical fouls.
In the fourth quarter, the Heat also did the job at the free-throw line, where they made 22-of-29 attempts.
O’Neal, shooting just 47 percent at the line in the playoffs, made his first six attempts in the fourth quarter and went 8-of-12 overall.
The physical game featured 62 fouls and 97 free throws. Miami went 38-of-54 at the line while Detroit was 28-of-43.
Wade scored 36 points in his second straight big game, and O’Neal added 24 for the top-seeded Heat, who improved to 5-0 on the road in the postseason.
After scoring just 16 points in the series opener, Wade has exploded for 76 in the last two games. He was at his best in the first half in this one, scoring 21 on 9-of-14 shooting.
O’Neal also looked like his superstar self in the first half when he scored 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He went just 1-of-5 in the second half.
Richard Hamilton scored 33 points and Billups and Tayshaun Prince added 18 apiece for the Pistons, who host Game Four today.
