<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">MIAMI ? Once again, not having Shaquille O'Neal was not a problem for the Heat. Miami didn't even need its 7-foot-1, 325-pound center to provide the muscle in a late-game fracas involving guard Dwyane Wade, as O'Neal did last week against Toronto. Forward Udonis Haslem took on the role of enforcer, and Wade, who tied a career-best with 39 points, took care of everything else as Miami defeated Chicago 104-86 at AmericanAirlines Arena despite the absence of O'Neal, who stayed at home because of a stomach virus. With the victory, the Heat (56-19) clinched the No. 1 seed throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, extended its franchise-record home win streak to 18 games and improved to 4-1 in games O'Neal doesn't start. "I was really, really, really happy with the way the guys played," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. Miami remains in a battle with Phoenix and San Antonio for best record in the league, which would secure home-court advantage should the Heat reach the NBA Finals. Of course, Miami isn't close to being as dominant without O'Neal as it is with him, but the Heat showed again Tuesday that it can get by temporarily with Wade, guard Damon Jones (17 points), swingman Eddie Jones (15 points) and Haslem (16 points, 15 rebounds). Miami never allowed Chicago (41-32) to get closer than eight points after the 6:01 mark of the second quarter and didn't allow the Bulls within single digits in the second half. Wade, the All-Star who seems to be getting better with each game, frustrated Bulls forward Andres Nocioni with 2:14 left when he attempted to drive past him. Nocioni fouled Wade hard and flung him to the floor. Nocioni was walking away when Haslem came up and shoved the Argentina native, knocking him into the first two rows. "It was a stupid foul (on my part) because the game was over," Nocioni said. "I apologize because (what followed) is both bad for the game and bad for me." Haslem was ejected and both players drew technical fouls.</div> Source
