Shaquille O’Neal collected 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series and are halfway to avenging a seven-game loss to Detroit in last year’s conference finals.

"We stuck to our game plan tonight," O’Neal said. "I just do what I do best and we kept our composure.

"A lot of coaches play percentages when it comes to me, but this just shows you can’t stop me."

The Heat can put the Pistons on the brink of elimination Monday, when they host game four.

The Pistons never led after the first three minutes of the contest but opened the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run to close within 74-73 on back-to-back three-pointers by Chauncey Billups with 7:45 left.

Miami coach Pat Riley called a timeout and his two superstars promptly delivered consecutive baskets to restore order.

Wade drove to the rim and converted a difficult three-point play to begin the 24-10 burst and O’Neal added a hook shot in the lane for a 79-73 lead.

"They put the ball in my hands and trust me to make the right play," said Wade. "My teammates depend on me. Guys look at me and say, ‘It’s your time.’ That’s all you need."

The baskets by Wade and O’Neal sparked an 11-2 run for the Heat, who took an 85-75 lead with 4:26 to play.

Richard Hamilton made four free throws to bring Detroit within 85-79 with 3:49 left, but Wade answered with two foul shots of his own and Antoine Walker fed Udonis Haslem for a jumper to restore a 10-point lead.

The closest the Pistons got the rest of the way was 91-83 on a 3-pointer by Billups with 2:15 remaining. It was the team’s first basket in 5 1/2 minutes and promptly was answered by Wade, who made two foul shots and converted a three-point play to seal the victory.

"Whoever is the most aggressive from start to finish is going to come away with the victory," Billups said. "We’ve got to try to attack early in the games, offensively and defensively. We’ve got to be more aggressive."

Wade finished 13-of-17 from the field and 9-of-11 from the line, adding eight rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.

Walker scored 11 points and Haslem 10 for Miami, which shot a blistering 58 percent and led in rebounding 40-27.

The Pistons never fired offensively and committed 14 turnovers. The two-time defending conference champions made just 22-of-33 free throws, including only two-of-10 by Ben Wallace, who has made just 13-of-56 foul shots this postseason.

Billups scored 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting and Hamilton added 20 but made just six-of-15 shots.

Tayshaun Prince scored the Pistons’ first three points but none thereafter, while Rasheed Wallace managed just 11 points on four-of-11 shooting.