Heat too much for Nets again

The story line didn't change, nor did the outcome. Once again, the New Jersey Nets held Shaquille O'Neal in check but couldn't find a way to beat his Miami Heat.

And former Nets center Alonzo Mourning did the most damage of all.

Mourning, who wanted out of New Jersey so he could play for a title contender, had 21 points, and Dwyane Wade had 17 points and 10 assists on Tuesday night in the Heat's 104-87 win for a 2-0 lead over the Nets in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

O'Neal, Eddie Jones and Damon Jones each finished with 14 points for the Heat, which moved to 38-5 at home this season.

Nenad Krstic had 27 points for New Jersey, which also got 21 points from Vince Carter, 14 from Richard Jefferson and 10 from Jason Kidd.

The series shifts Thursday to New Jersey, where the Nets have won 10 of their last 13 playoff games.

In five games against the Nets this season -- all Miami victories -- O'Neal has been merely mortal, averaging 16.4 points and 10 rebounds. And the Nets still haven't come close to winning; their average margin of defeat against Miami this season is 19.8 points.

Pistons 99, 76ers 84

Sparked by a technical foul, Rasheed Wallace scored 11 of 15 points in the third quarter to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 99-84 victory over Philadelphia on Tuesday, and a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.

Allen Iverson scored 19 points on 7-of-24 shooting and Chris Webber had 15 for the 76ers, but their scoring wasn't enough to keep the game close against the defending NBA champions.

Game 3 is Friday in Philadelphia. NBA teams trailing 2-0 have rallied to advance just eight times in best-of-seven series.

Detroit's Richard Hamilton scored 23 points, while Chauncey Billups had 20 points and eight assists. Samuel Dalembert had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Sixers.

--From wire reports