AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Larry Brown's uncertain future was

not a distraction to the Detroit Pistons. On the contrary, it was

barely in their thoughts.

Detroit ensured that the Eastern Conference finals will last at

least six games, getting a big performance from Richard Hamilton on

both ends of the court to defeat the Miami Heat 106-96 Tuesday

night in Game 4 of their best-of-seven series.

Bouncing back strongly from a 2-1 deficit just as they did in

the second round against Indiana, the Pistons took the lead for

good after Shaquille O'Neal got into foul trouble midway through

the first quarter and knotted the series 2-2 heading into Game 5 on

Thursday night in Miami.

Game 6 will be Saturday on Detroit's court in what could be

Brown's last home game as coach of the Pistons.

The 64-year-old Brown has met with the Cleveland Cavaliers about

becoming their president of basketball operations, though he

continued to insist Tuesday that he would like to continue coaching

if his health allows it.

"We've got bigger things. We're worried about the Miami Heat,

not what the coach is doing or whatever," Detroit guard Chauncey

Billups said. "We don't care about that now, we're trying to win

the series, trying to defend our championship, not worry about

what's going on after the season."

The performance was the Pistons' most dominant of the series

after they lost Games 2 and 3.

Detroit did not have a single turnover in the first half, never

let Dwyane Wade get into a scoring groove -- thanks in large part to

Hamilton's defense -- and was never seriously challenged in the

fourth quarter.

"We're in much better shape than we were after the other night.

We all felt this would be a great series, and hopefully that's the

case," Brown said. "We have to find a way to win one game on the

road and take care of our own court."

Hamilton scored 28 points, Rasheed Wallace added 20, Billups had

17 and the Pistons finished with six turnovers. The lopsided result

even allowed little-used forward Darko Milicic to see his first

playing time of the series -- the final 93 seconds.

"For the night, their four main guys that they look to

offensively, we didn't do a good job on any of them," Heat coach

Stan Van Gundy said. "Just a great, great game by them. A very

complete effort on their part."

O'Neal, limited by foul trouble to 8 minutes in the first half,

had 12 points and five rebounds. Wade had 28 points on 10-for-22

shooting as Brown made a switch and used Hamilton instead of

Tayshaun Prince as the primary defender on the Heat's second-year

guard.

"I got every shot I wanted. I hit some and I missed some, so it

wasn't a big thing to me at all," Wade said.

Detroit also handed Miami its first road loss of the postseason.

The Heat had been 5-0 against New Jersey, Washington and the

Pistons.

O'Neal picked up his second foul just 6:14 into the first

quarter with the score 11-11, and the Heat were behind 32-25 when

he returned 2½ minutes into the second quarter.

O'Neal's third foul came just over 2 minutes later when he was

called for bumping Hamilton on a drive. O'Neal protested that he

had his arms straight up, then frowned at the referee who made the

call, Jack Nies, as he exited for the rest of the half.

Miami had a 13-3 run to pull to 46-42, but things went bad for

the Heat after O'Neal's backup, Alonzo Mourning, drew his third

foul with 3:30 left. Hamilton scored six points and Billups had

four as Detroit closed the half with a 14-4 run for a 60-46 lead.

Wade had just 10 points at the half as Hamilton did a superb job

keeping him out of his rhythm.

"We just wanted to change up," Brown said. "The kid's a

great, great player. You can't always give them the same look."

O'Neal's fourth foul came with 3:05 left in the third quarter

after Miami had pulled to 70-65, and the Heat entered the fourth

quarter trailing 79-69. A 3-pointer by Damon Jones pulled the Heat

to 84-75 with 7:51 left, but Prince hit a short jump-hook to start

a 9-1 run that made it 93-76.

"We're obviously a better team with him in the game, but we

can't worry about 'What if the big fella didn't get in foul

trouble,' and stuff like that," Heat forward Udonis Haslem said.

"We didn't play team defense."

Earlier Tuesday, Brown was unusually defensive and testy in

reacting to a report on ESPN.com that he already had agreed to

become president of the Cavaliers.

Brown has three years remaining on a five-year contract, but the

Pistons have made it clear they would not stand in Brown's way if

he wants to secure a position with another club in case his health

prevents him from coaching.

"All my players ever ask is how I'm feeling," Brown said.

"They know I want to coach, that's what I do. Could you imagine me

not coaching?"

The players have regarded the rumors surrounding Brown as more

of an annoyance than a distraction, though it is clear they aren't

too happy with the timing of the revelations about Brown possibly

leaving for Cleveland.

"We've been in this situation before," Prince said. "The

stakes are higher now, but we dealt with this during the season

with New York and those rumors. The only difference now is that

we're in the Eastern Conference finals. We're a mature team and we

know how to handle it."Game notes
O'Neal did not speak to reporters after the game. ... The

1999-2000 Los Angeles Lakers were the only team in NBA history to

go unbeaten on the road in the postseason (8-0). ... Detroit

avoided falling behind 3-1, a deficit only seven of 159 teams have

recovered from in postseason history. ... Commissioner David Stern

attended the game.