Wade Beats Pistons in a Flash

Dwyane Wade led the comeback and then the celebration, skipping along the sideline and high-fiving jubilant fans.

The Miami Heat finally beat an elite team, with Wade scoring its last 17 points, including the game-winner on a 16-footer with 2.3 seconds left, in a 100-98 victory Sunday over the Detroit Pistons.

Touted before the season as title contenders, the Heat improved to 1-7 against the NBA’s four top teams. But it needed a frantic rally to do it.

Miami trailed, 90-83, with 4 1/2 minutes left when Wade took over. His 17 consecutive points were a franchise record, and he finished with 37.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “It was time for me. I had to come through and help this team win. I put it on my shoulders at the end to make some plays.”

Wade, nicknamed “Flash,” made his final seven shots and scored 28 points in the second half.

“Dwyane took the game over,” Detroit Coach Flip Saunders said. “He got a lot of shots up, and we couldn’t get any help over.”

Shaquille O’Neal kept the Heat in the game early and finished with a season-high 31 points.

“It was a big win,” O’Neal said. “We could have let it slip away, but we kept on fighting. Now we have to develop some type of consistency. Anybody can win one game. We have to do that night in and night out.”

Chauncey Billups had 29 points and 10 assists for the Pistons. They’ve lost three of their last five games but still have the NBA’s best record at 41-9.

“The Heat might look at this as being bigger than it really is,” Billups said. “It’s just another win. But they have struggled against teams with better records, so beating the team with the No. 1 record is a big win for them.”

After Wade’s basket with 55 seconds left made the score 98-98, Detroit missed twice, and the Heat regained possession with 25 seconds to go.

Wade walked the ball up court, letting the clock run down. He then darted to the left against Tayshaun Prince, pulled up and made a jump shot.

The Pistons’ inbounds play following a timeout went awry, and Prince launched a three-point try after the buzzer that missed. Detroit went five for 15 in the fourth quarter, scoring only 14 points.

“We just missed shots, and the young boy hit his shots -- that’s all,” Piston forward Rasheed Wallace said. “It was a good game. It was what the people wanted, and we supplied it.”

The Heat overcame an 84-71 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter, making the comeback its largest this season.

Richard Hamilton scored 25 points and Wallace 21 for the Pistons.