MIAMI - A year ago, the Miami Heat simply weren't good enough. Shaquille O'Neal knew it. Dwyane Wade knew it.

So Pat Riley fixed it.

And now, the Heat are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time.

O'Neal had 28 points and 16 rebounds and Wade - who spent part of his day in a hospital battling dehydration and flu-like symptoms - added 14 points as the Heat ended the Detroit Pistons' two-year reign as Eastern Conference champions with an 95-78 win Friday.

Jason Williams, one of Riley's prized offseason additions, came up huge with Wade lagging in Game 6, scoring 21 points on 10-for-12 shooting.

The Heat now await either Dallas or Phoenix in the Finals, which start Thursday.

The party started early. Wade walked off with 1:45 left, right index finger raised before he slapped Riley's hand. And after the final second ticked off, white streamers fell from the ceiling as the Heat players waved championship caps and T-shirts. Soon, though, O'Neal issued an expected warning.

“We're not done,” he said.

Richard Hamilton had 33 points for Detroit, which finished the regular season with an NBA-best 64-18 record and came in confident after ending Miami's season here a year ago in Game 7 - in part because Wade and O'Neal were battling injury.

Wade clearly wasn't at his best Friday.