Whether Wade can help the Heat take the final step remains to be seen.

The emerging superstar was injured in the third quarter of last night's Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The pain was too much for him to take when he tried to return, and Wade was uncertain of his availability for Game 6 at Detroit tomorrow night.

"It's very, very painful," Miami coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It feels like he's being stabbed when he breathes. We'll just have to wait and see."

Wade scored 15 points and Shaquille O'Neal had 20 for the Heat, who received significant contributions from several players — from some savvy freelancing by point guard Damon Jones in the first and third quarters to two timely turnaround jumpers by Rasual Butler in the fourth quarter — to move as close as the franchise has ever been to making the championship round.

Miami's Dwyane Wade could be doubtful for Game 6 after straining a rib muscle executing a crossover dribble in last night's game. Al Diaz • Associated Press

And they might have to do it without Wade.

"I couldn't move in either direction, I could only go straight," said Wade, who pulled the muscle while executing a crossover dribble midway through the third quarter. "Hopefully, me being young, I can recoup real quick and be ready for Game 6."

Miami's Udonis Haslem had his best game of the series with 14 points and 13 rebounds, helping make up for a sub-par offensive effort from Eddie Jones (seven points). Butler contributed 12 points off the bench, including seven in the fourth quarter, and Damon Jones scored 15.

"Their energy was a lot greater than ours," Pistons coach Larry Brown said. "In Game 4 our big guys got four or five dunks on the break. We didn't see any of that tonight. They just played a lot better."

Chauncey Billups had 21 points and Richard Hamilton added 19 for the Pistons. Rasheed Wallace was held to two.

"We're going to win Game 6," Wallace said. "They want there to be a Game 7, there's no other series. If y'all can't see that, y'all crazy."

Wade went to the locker room after taking a charge from Wallace with 5:08 left in the third period. He returned for the start of the fourth quarter, then motioned to the bench that he needed to come out less than 2 minutes into the period.

"I took the charge because I couldn't move," Wade said. "I wanted to stop play anyway.

"I tried to come back. We got a lot of guys on our team playing through a lot, so I tried to come back and see if I get out there and get going it would feel better, but I couldn't and I didn't want to make it any worse. I had confidence my team could get this victory, and they did."

He planned to see how the injury felt in the morning before the Heat traveled to Detroit.

Miami took control in the second quarter by holding Detroit to six field goals and forcing six turnovers in the period. An 11-0 run to close the first half left Miami ahead 53-39, and Detroit trailed by double digits the rest of the way.