HEAT-PISTONS NOTEBOOK

AUBURN HILLS – Rasheed Wallace stood by his comment that the officials would assure the Pistons would win last night’s Game 6 to guarantee a Game 7 for the good of the league.

The remark made after Thursday’s Game 5 loss in which Wallace was in severe foul trouble drew a $20,000 fine from the league for criticizing the officials and using “inappropriate language.” Wallace has a long history of barking at referees and drawing technical fouls but he behaved nicely last postseason when playing for a contract.

“Oh, we’re going to win Game 6,” a hot Wallace said Thursday. “They are going to send some good people out there and there’s going to be a Game 7. There’s no other series. If y’all can’t see that, you’re all crazy.”

Wallace was referring to “good people” as referees. He referred to the foul discrepancy in Game 5 as Miami getting “the extra help.” Wallace picked up five fouls and played just 27 minutes.

When asked what he meant by extra help, he snapped, “Come on, man. Don’t try to bait me on this. You already know what I mean.”

Later he said of the officiating, “It’s real damn tough. It’s so blatant.”

Miami coach Stan Van Gundy is irritated at Pistons’ yapping, saying Friday that, according to Detroit’s comments, Miami has yet to win a game in the series.

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Pistons coach Larry Brown saw none of the desperation in the Game 5 loss and hopes they come with that mentality last night to save the season.

“We need to play with a certain desperation that we’ve had in the past,” said Brown, who could be coaching his final game. “If we do that, we’ll have a good chance.”

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Van Gundy on Dwyane Wade emerging as a legit superstar: “What it comes down to is Wade’s incredible ability to adjust when they make adjustments on him. He has both the talent and intelligence to make adjustments in his own game. That’s what sets him apart to me.”