WASHINGTON, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Dwyane Wade scored 12 of his game-high 31 points in the fourth quarter, and the Miami Heat downed the Detroit Pistons, 89-78, to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Shaquille O'Neal gave Wade a big support with 21 points and nine rebounds. Udonis Haslem tallied 16 points for the Heat, who are one victory away from their first trip to the NBA Finals.
Miami shot 54.9 percent from the field, despite a franchise-low 51 attempts, but frustrated the Pistons, especially forward Rasheed Wallace, into several poor shots.
The Heat made 28-of-47 foul shots, but Wade went 15-of-19 at the charity stripe.
Wallace ended with 12 points before fouling out with 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the game. Tayshaun Prince had 15 points to pace the Pistons, who shot 39 percent. Chauncey Billups finished with 14 points and seven assists, while Richard Hamilton was limited to 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting.
The Heat lost to the Chicago Bulls in the 1997 East finals and were beaten by Detroit in their only other trip to the conference finals, in seven games last year. The Pistons rallied from a 3-2 deficit to win that series.
Miami can make first trip to the NBA Finals with a win in Game 5 of the series Wednesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Enditem
