Five minutes before tipoff Thursday, Shaquille O'Neal appeared on the MCI Center floor in a beige suit coat with a gold tie and pants. He walked with the gait of a retiree, not the runner-up for the NBA's Most Valuable Player award.
For the first time in his 13 years in the league, O'Neal was sitting out a playoff game, the contusion on his right quadriceps too painful for him to play. He had not missed a start in 164 postseason games since coming into the league in the 1992-1993 season.
His absence gave the Wizards, trailing two games to none, an unforeseen opportunity in Game 3 of this Eastern Conference semifinal series. But O'Neal's teammates instead pushed Washington within a game of elimination, as Miami rallied to beat the Wizards, 102-95. It was the Heat's seventh consecutive playoff victory.
PHOTO: AP
The Heat can close out the series here Saturday night in Game 4. O'Neal's status is unknown.
Moments before the opening tip, O'Neal grabbed Heat guard Dwyane Wade. O'Neal and Wade, nicknamed Diesel and Flash, proved to be great complements to each other's games in leading the Heat to the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference.
"He told me I was the best player on the court," Wade said, adding that O'Neal told him he needed to go out and play like it. "This is my team, and I needed to lead it to victory."
Wade took O'Neal's advice to heart, scoring 19 of his game-high 31 points in the second half. Most of those points came while he was being defended by the Wizards' long-armed guard Larry Hughes, named to the NBA's all-defensive team.
Wade's final basket, a driving right-handed layup over Antawn Jamison with 54.4 seconds left, delivered the game's final points and effectively ended Washington's hopes.
The Wizards could only begin preparing a defense aimed at stopping Wade 20 minutes before the game, when O'Neal's absence became official. Wade had also scored 31 in Game 2, helping to cover for a hobbled O'Neal in the Heat's 108-102 victory.
"It was even scarier for us," Jamison said of O'Neal's absence. "We knew Dwyane Wade, who we haven't stopped all series, was going to put the team on his back. We knew Alonzo Mourning was going to come out to prove he could still play."
Mourning, who replaced O'Neal in the lineup, finished with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in 35 minutes. It was the second-most points and minutes for Mourning in a game since he rejoined the Heat on March 3.
Mourning had a kidney transplant at the end of 2003, and there was doubt about whether he would play again. But he returned to the NBA this season, and after time with the Nets and the Toronto Raptors, he signed with Miami, where he had played seven seasons and started 42 playoff games.
"I just want to have fun doing this," Mourning said. "I don't want to look at this year as should have, could have, wished I had. Because there may not be another year."
Eddie Jones and Damon Jones each scored 16 points for Miami.
Washington looked strongest in the first half, motivated perhaps by the sight of O'Neal in street clothes and its return to the MCI Center, where the Wizards won three first-round games over Chicago. The Wizards' Hughes, Jamison and Gilbert Arenas scored all 24 of the team's first-quarter points, and Hughes made two free throws with 0.2 seconds left in the half for a 51-49 Washington lead.
That lead grew to 60-52 in the third quarter before the Heat, and Wade, in particular, responded. They scored the next 13 points to take the lead for good.
Coach Stan Van Gundy said Wade was disappointed at halftime by his 12-point, 6-turnover effort. But a few teammates came over with encouraging words, and Wade said that sparked his second half.
"I told him, `Brother, I'm proud of you,"' Mourning said. "We've ridden your coattails, and we're not going to stop now."
The Wizards trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half but crept to 87-84 on a Hughes 3-pointer with 6 minutes 49 seconds left. But they failed to capitalize with O'Neal on the sideline, and that could be a prelude to their demise.
"It's like the NCAA tournament now," Wizards center Brendan Haywood said. "Win or go home."
SuperSonics 92, Spurs 91
In Seattle, Ray Allen's 20 points and Vitaly Potapenko's big defensive stop were just enough to gibe Seattle a win over San Antonio.
Allen had an impact despite going scoreless in the final period and Potapenko forced Tim Duncan into a missed 4-footer at the final horn. Reserve Antonio Daniels had 18 points and eight rebounds, and Jerome James scored 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the floor, helping the Sonics pull to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Sunday in Seattle.
Duncan scored 23 points with 11 rebounds, and his defense was as solid as ever -- four blocked shots -- on the day he was selected to the NBA's All-Defensive Team for the sixth straight year.
But it wasn't enough to carry the Spurs, who had won six straight playoff games. And this win was critical for the Sonics, because no team has ever won a seven-game playoff series after trailing 3-0.
Center Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons, previously selected Defensive Player of the Year for the third time, heads the NBA's All-Defensive team.
Wallace, making his fourth consecutive appearance on the first team, was joined on Thursday by forward Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves, forwards Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs, and guard Larry Hughes of the Washington Wizards.
Duncan was selected to the first team for the sixth time in a row, as was Garnett. Bowen made it for the second straight year. Hughes made the team for the first time.
The second team consists of forward Tayshaun Prince and guard Chauncey Billups of Detroit, Denver Nuggets center Marcus Camby, Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko, New Jersey Nets guard Jason Kidd, and Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade. Kidd and Wade tied in the voting, giving the second team six players.
Selections were made by the league's 30 head coaches. They were not permitted to vote for players from their own team.
LEAGUE and UNION TALK
After a collective bargaining session ended on Thursday without a written proposal changing hands, the head of the NBA players' union said he remains unconvinced of the need to raise the minimum age.
Union director Billy Hunter made his comments in an interview with AP following a small meeting at league headquarters at which union attorneys verbally outlined the players' new proposal. Hunter did not attend.
Hunter would not say whether an age limit was brought up, but he again said he'd only yield ground on the issue if the union receives something substantial in return.
"I'm flexible on anything if it makes economic sense and improves the overall conditions for my constituents," Hunter said, adding that he believes a majority of current players are opposed to raising the minimum age.
Commissioner David Stern wants to raise the minimum age to 20. Currently, it is 18 for foreign-born players and 17 or 18 for Americans.
"I'm still strongly philosophically opposed to it, and I can't understand why people think one is needed except for the fact that the NBA is viewed as a predominantly black sport," Hunter said.
"You don't see that outcry in other sports, and the arguments that have been in support of an age limit have been defeated."
The current labor agreement expires on June 30, and the sides have been meeting regularly for the past 2 1/2 months negotiating a new deal.
Another bargaining session is scheduled for Tuesday in New York, with several owners and players expected to attend.
At a playoff game in Miami this week, Stern argued in favor of an age limit by saying he wants the league's scouts and general managers out of high school gyms.
"Their presence there is unseemly in my view," Stern said.
Another argument often cited by Stern is that too many young urban Americans are looking at the NBA as a viable avenue -- which it often is not -- to financial security for their families and a quick path to stardom for themselves.
Last year, eight high schoolers were among the first 19 draft picks, including overall No. 1 choice Dwight Howard, and two of the last three winners of the NBA's Rookie of the Year award (LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire) were drafted straight out of high school.
At this year's All-Star game, there were seven players -- Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O'Neal, Rashard Lewis, Stoudemire and James -- who made the jump directly from high school to the pros.
O'Neal has been one of the most vocal opponents of raising the minimum age, which hasn't changed in the three decades.
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