HEAT-PISTONS NOTEBOOK

MIAMI – The Pistons’ Rasheed Wallace left South Beach wearing his custom-made pro wrestling-like NBA championship belt around his waist, coach Larry Brown left “proud”, and Richard Hamilton left satisfied.

The Pistons got some Miami sun, they got a victory over the Heat, and they feel it’s all under control as the 1-1 Eastern Conference Finals resume starting Sunday on their home court, The Palace of Auburn Hills.

“We came here to get one and we got one,” Hamilton said. “We need to go home and feed off our fans. I think we’re prepared to do that.”

Despite Dwyane Wade’s 40 points for Miami, the Pistons rallied from a 14-point hole to take a one-point lead into the fourth quarter, and closed within two points with 16 seconds left.

“The effort to come back was remarkable,” said Brown, who could be in his last series as a head coach due to health issues. “Our point guard [Chauncey Billups] had eight turnovers in the first half, we shot 38 percent, a lot of things went wrong but we had a chance to win the game.”

Indeed, the Pistons should feel good, knowing Shaquille O’Neal likely won’t impose his will on the series and Wade, who attacked the rim in Game 2 with Jordanesque grace, will be hard-pressed to dominate every game.

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The hobbled O’Neal appreciates Heat coach Stan Van Gundy pairing him with center Alonzo Mourning in the fourth quarter for defensive purposes. Mourning had three blocks in the fourth. It’s a savvy move, as power forward Udonis Haslem is hampered by a dislocated finger.

“It’s great,” O’Neal said. “He had my back a couple of times. He played with a lot of heart. Hopefully we’ll see more of that rotation.”

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Rasheed Wallace is unimpressed with “The Red Zone” – the term for the Heat crowd, almost 90 percent of which is decked out in red.

“All that did,” he said, “was make it seem like there was a whole lot of blood out there and we’re the sharks.”