updated 2:30 a.m. ET May 26, 2005

MIAMI - After returning home from a late-night joyride with teammates Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning, the phone rang inside Dwyane Wade’s home as the dawn of a new day was drawing near.

The voice on the line belonged to O’Neal, who wanted to drop one last line of reassurance into the head of his teammate who had struggled so badly in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. No matter that it was already past 3 a.m.

“I was up, and if I was up I wanted him to be up,” O’Neal said.

The message was the last thing Wade heard before going to sleep, and it certainly sunk in. Miami’s up-and-coming superstar rediscovered his aggressiveness and took over in the fourth quarter Wednesday night, scoring 20 of his 40 points over the final 12 minutes as the Heat defeated the Detroit Pistons 92-86 to even the best-of-seven series 1-1.

This was the type of dominant offensive effort the Heat had grown accustomed to receiving from the 23-year-old during their consecutive sweeps of New Jersey and Washington in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Wade was able to summon another burst of brilliance to avoid having his team head to Detroit down 2-0.

“I wanted my voice to be the last he heard. I wanted to give him some inspiration,” said O’Neal, who disregarded the danger of possibly waking Wade’s wife and son. “He took a lot of heat for having a bad first game. I just told him to take your time, let the game come to you — and I’m here with you no matter what.”

Wade scored 14 of Miami’s first 16 points in the final quarter, then raced in from behind and came up with a crucial block of Chauncey Billups’ 3-point attempt to help the Heat hold off the defending NBA champions.

“I watched a lot of film, listened to a lot of people and used everything my college coach and NBA coach told me, too,” said Wade, who shot 7-for-25 in Game 1. “They told me to come back with a good game. I was rushing some shots. I wasn’t being patient. Tonight, I came out patient.”

The series resumes Sunday night, each team having asserted itself once.

Wade eclipsed 30 points for the sixth time this postseason and reached 40 points for the second time, while O’Neal added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Damon Jones had 14 points.

Richard Hamilton scored 21 points and Tayshaun Prince had 17 for the Pistons, who came back from a 14-point deficit but were helpless to stop Wade when he decided it was time to take over.

“I know I’m human and am going to have some bad games, but it’s all about how you come back the next day,” Wade said. “(Miami president Pat) Riley told me even the great ones, even (Michael) Jordan, have bad games. Don’t put it all on yourself.”

MORE FROM NBA

NBA Section Front

Kobe scores 28 in Lakers’ 5th straight win Remember when Magic shocked the world? Miller leads Blazers to rout of Timberwolves Gordon, Wallace carry Pistons past 76ers Suns (6-1) dominate Wizards N.Y. wants LeBron to be its king Disgruntled Iverson leaves Griz with permission Nets forward Douglas-Roberts has swine flu Pistons' Prince out indefinitely with disc rupture Fan ranker: Who will be MVP of the NBA? NBA Section Front   Add NBA headlines to your news reader: