J. Pat Carter / AP file

Injured Heat superstar Shaquille O'Neal started Monday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

updated 11:06 p.m. ET May 23, 2005

MIAMI - Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neal was in the starting lineup Monday night for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Detroit Pistons.

O’Neal’s availability was a question mark right up until gametime, and a red-clad sellout crowd erupted in cheers when he was announced among Miami’s starting five.

There was another huge cheer when he made the game’s first field goal for a 2-0 lead. He made his first four shots and went to the bench for the first time with 6:36 left in the quarter and Miami leading 15-13.

“We might not really know until the ball goes up,” teammate Dwyane Wade had said earlier Monday.

O’Neal has been hampered by a bruised right thigh throughout the postseason, and he missed the Heat’s final two second-round games against Washington. He practiced Saturday, then did not practice Sunday, but said he was hopeful to play.

The Heat had another injury problem after Udonis Haslem dislocated the middle finger on his left hand at Sunday’s practice. But Haslem, Miami’s starting power forward, started.

“It’s painful, but it’s nothing I can’t deal with,” he said.

For the Pistons, guard Richard Hamilton has been slowed by a bruised calf — an injury he expected to heal over the weekend after Detroit finished off the Indiana Pacers in the second round.

“We’re trying everything from massage to stimulation to ice and everything else. I guess it’s one of those things that just will get better with time,” Hamilton said.

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But by far the biggest injury concern was what Miami was experiencing with O’Neal, who had never missed a playoff game in 11 seasons until Game 3 of the series against the Wizards.

O’Neal’s teammates, who were taken to dinner by the center at a South Beach steakhouse on Sunday night, were happy to see him taking part in the shootaround.

“It was very encouraging,” Haslem said. “I think it brought a whole new spirit to the team.”

Pistons center Ben Wallace, who will draw the primary defensive assignment on O’Neal, fully expected to see him in uniform for the start of Game 1.

“No players get to this point by not going out there and playing through pain. You definitely cannot be a factor in this league if you’re not willing to play through a little pain. So a guy like Shaq, he’s been there before and knows what it takes, so there’s no question in my mind over whether he’ll play.”

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