Pistons handle the Heat in Game 7

The defending champions returned to the NBA Finals with an 88-82 victory.

MIAMI -- The pressure of Game 7 didn't faze the defending champions.

In a deciding game that stayed close the entire 48 minutes, the Detroit Pistons summoned their experience and played with poise down the stretch of the fourth quarter to defeat the Miami Heat 88-82 Monday night.

Now, it's back to the NBA Finals for the team often dismissed as a fluke champion -- a disparaging label if there ever was one, but one the Pistons can get rid of with four more wins.

Dwyane Wade played for Miami after missing Game 6 because of a rib muscle injury, but he was only good for brief stretches. He finished with 20 points but didn't score over the final 15 minutes.

Richard Hamilton scored 22 points, Rasheed Wallace added 20 -- including two foul shots that put Detroit ahead for good with 1:26 remaining -- and the Pistons closed the game with a 10-3 run to hand Miami yet another heartbreaking Game 7 loss on its home floor.

Detroit won for the 10th straight time when needing one victory to clinch a series, the second longest such streak behind the Lakers' record 12-game streak that ended in 2004.

The Pistons also became the first Eastern Conference team in 23 years to win a Game 7 on the road. They open the finals Thursday night at San Antonio.

Shaquille O'Neal led Miami with 27 points, but the Heat faltered offensively in the final two minutes -- with Wade the biggest culprit when he forced up a 20-footer that missed badly with 1:13 left.

Wallace followed with a putback of Tayshaun Prince's miss to make it 82-79, and Detroit went 6-for-6 from the foul line -- pressure, what pressure? -- the rest of the way.

Wade scored 12 points in the third quarter, but he was wincing in pain in the game's final minutes. His basket with 3:10 left in the third quarter was his last of the night.

Detroit's victory extended Larry Brown's coaching career for at least four more games, pitting him against his good friend, Spurs coach Greg Popovich, and another dominant big man, Tim Duncan, in the finals. The Pistons and Spurs split their season series 1-1.

"I'm thrilled. It's like a dream come true. Coming from where I come from, Coltsville, Pennsylvania, and now to get the opportunity to play for my second championship at 27, it's a great feeling," said Hamilton, who has scored 20 or more points in 16 of the Pistons' 17 postseason games.