With Shaquille O’Neal on his way to the Phoenix desert, his former Heat teammates trudged on without him into the Michigan winter. For at least the first night, they did OK. But it still wasn’t enough to avoid their 20th defeat in 21 games. Miami led by nine, 44-35, before the Pistons pushed toward a halftime tie at 48. The Pistons carved out an 11-point lead after three quarters, but found themselves in another tie at 83 midway through the fourth. A Jarvis Hayes triple gave Detroit the lead for good moments later, 86-83, but the outcome stayed in doubt until the end, as Rip Hamilton (19 points) and Chauncey Billups (15 points, 10 assists) each made a pair of free throws in the final 20 seconds.

Miami’s Dwyane Wade had 30 points and 12 assists but also committed four turnovers - all in the fourth quarter.

The story of the game in Pistons red, white and blue

– Miami’s new full-time starting center Mark Blount had eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first quarter. Then Ricky Davis scored 20 points off the bench for Miami on 7-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-7 from the beyond the arc. Three of those treys came in the second quarter and the fourth came with 21.5 seconds left, slicing what had been a safe five-point Pistons lead to a basket.

FLIP SAUNDERS: “I told our guys before the game, they’ve got guys. They’ve got Ricky Davis, who’s scored 40 and been a 20-point scorer, and Blount can score. If you give those guys opportunities they’ll knock down shots and what happened was they knocked down shots.”

Blue Collar – Many fans trickled into the Palace after tipoff due to the unpleasant weather. The sparse first-crowd quarter did its best to keep up the atmosphere, including a group of guys in Section 219 with the letters for “PISTONS” painted on their chests. Channel 4 WDIV reported a winter storm warning for Oakland County that would result “in a total snowfall of 4 to 9 inches,” with the higher amounts north of M-59, near the Palace. “Travel is not recommended.” Cheering for the Pistons like you’re at an SEC football tailgate? That’s True Blue Collar.

BILLUPS: “We knew we weren’t going to get the fans we usually get tonight, and we’re definitely appreciative of the fans we did get considering the situation. But we felt like we’d probably have to bring our own energy. It’s hard sometimes. There’s going to be games like this, but it’s good to get a win.”

Red Flag – O’Neal’s departure should have demoralized the Heat; it was the ultimate sign of resignation by the front office that the roster, as currently configured, would not get it done any time soon. They were ripe for the picking, had the Pistons jumped on them early, opening time for the young bench players to shine. Instead, the Heat players rallied together. With Wade contributing only four points, the Heat took a 22-18 lead after the first quarter and shot 50 percent from the floor. It was a battle the rest of the way.

SAUNDERS: “There might be teams that play bad at times, but all these players are good players. And if you don’t come in with the right mental frame to know that, to think that that team can be you that night, you end up having these types of games. You’ve got to go in with the idea that every game is a grind-it-out, tough game.”

BILLUPS: “We played real dangerous tonight and we’ve got to know the next time we play a team like that we’ve got to take care of business early and let our bench play some minutes.”

Pivotal plays, frozen moments and lasting images from a victory that never seemed safe

A momentary spike - Leave it to Sheed to provide the Pistons’ first sustained run of energy. Trailing by six, Wallace knocked down two turnaround jumpers and made a heads up play with a long pass to Hamilton for a go-ahead dunk, 29-27. Though the lead wouldn’t last, it was the Pistons’ only fast-break points of the first half. As he’s done almost every night, Wallace exploited every mismatch the Shaq-less Heat offered, scoring 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting.

Dice comes through - Antonio McDyess shot only seven times, but he made five of them - including 3-for-3 during the late third-quarter run that gave Detroit its biggest - perhaps too big - cushion. Leading by five, McDyess let it rain from 18, 17 and 19 feet in the quarter, helping Detroit seize an 11-point lead, 75-64. Dice finished with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Wade’s turnovers - Wade is one of the most dangerous clutch shooters in the NBA - but he had trouble getting off the shots he wanted Wednesday. In a one-point game with less than five minutes left, Wade booted the ball to Rodney Stuckey, who found Hayes downcourt for a layup that pushed Detroit’s lead back to three.

Wade’s most critical turnover came with 1:32 left. The Pistons grabbed two offensive rebounds at the other end to bleed the clock. After a timeout, Tayshaun Prince’s step-back jumper over Davis put the Pistons ahead by five with 24.8 seconds left.

A little perspective on the Pistons success, short and long term

Since their 1-3 stretch in mid-January, the Pistons have won six straight games, and they have a favorable schedule remaining before the All-Star break, with only one of four opponents above .500 (Portland on Friday). They should be in good shape at the break. Their opponent cannot say the same.

Just two years ago, the Heat knocked the Pistons off the Eastern Conference throne en route to an NBA title. But Tuesday the Heat traded the cornerstone of that championship team, becoming just another formidable foe that peaked and then withered away. Detroit is now 17-4 against Miami in their last 21 meetings, including 9-1 at The Palace.

BILLUPS: “There’s a lot of situation that have reminded me of the way we’ve been able to keep it going here. When I first came here, (New) Jersey was pretty much the cream of the crop in the East and looking at where they’re at now, their team is assembled a little bit differently now. Indiana was a great team I thought we’d compete with for a lot of years for the Eastern finals. Then you got a team like Cleveland who right now they’re a really good team, they’re going to have a chance to do the same. They almost did this summer, losing a couple of their guys. It just really makes you appreciate what Joe (Dumars) does, the way he’s able to keep this group together.”