The Heat Take Game Three

It was kind of like the exact opposite of Game 2. The home team controls most of the game, the road team looks like they're more concerned with the viscosity of the oil that Pat Riley uses in his hair, until the road team puts together a few good possessions, gets the game close, and then the home team pulls away again, and we all go home.

Shaq had 27 and 12, and, according to Bill Walton, cemented his place as the most important human being in the history of western civilization. I felt like Dwyane Wade was the bigger factor, though, hitting tough shots all throughout the game, stemming the momentum when Detroit got it going, and making a comeback all but impossible. He finished with 35 points on 13-of-17 shooting, many of those being of a high degree of difficulty.

Game Four is Monday night, and it will be the approximately 18th must-win game of these playoffs for the Pistons. I'm guessing they're going to need more than the 5 combined points they got from Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace.

Detroit 83, Miami 98 [ESPN.com]