Sun-Sentinel:Riley said the seeming innocuous injury Mourning sustained in the second quarter is a torn calf muscle. That not only leaves the balance of the regular season in question for the veteran center, but the April 22 start of the postseason as well.
"His injury is not very good," the Heat coach said. "I don't know the prognosis, but he tore a calf muscle, so it's going to be indefinite."
While Mourning's prognosis is dire -- with center Shaquille O'Neal told the absence would be two to four weeks -- so were the straits the Heat found itself in midway through the final period, when Detroit pulled away behind the contributions of forwards Antonio McDyess and Tayshaun Prince.
"There's no excuses," Riley said. "We did a very poor job of executing our offense against their pressure.
"We came out strong, but we could not finish."
Ultimately, in a defensively driven game, the Heat lacked the scoring options to keep pace.
O'Neal certainly held up his end, going 43 minutes after missing Tuesday's loss in Minnesota with a sprained right thumb. He closed with 27 points and 10 rebounds, despite Detroit's aggressive fronting defense.
But with the Heat committing 15 turnovers to only five from the Pistons, O'Neal's effort went to waste.
"Too many silly mental mistakes," he said.
"It ain't really nothing they did. We aren't impressed with anything they did. It's about us."
Even with O'Neal back, the Heat's power rotation was shorthanded, with Mourning lost with what initially was diagnosed as a strained right calf with 10:01 to play in the second quarter, limiting him to 3 minutes, 18 seconds of action.
Mourning came up hobbling after taking a shot against McDyess, on a play that involved virtually no contact. He exited the arena in a walking boot.
While O'Neal was filling it up inside, Wade was struggling from the perimeter against the one-on-one defense of Richard Hamilton and Lindsey Hunter, as well as a series of well-devised traps by Detroit coach Flip Saunders.
"I missed some shots that I normally make, and they pressured me and got away with some stuff that they get away with," said Wade, who was limited to only four trips to the foul line.
After scoring the Heat's final 17 points in its Feb. 12 100-98 home victory over the Pistons, Wade was limited to a season-low 13 on 3-of-15 shooting.
Riley took the blame for not getting the third-year shooting guard the ball on the move.
"I'm sure they felt the sting of the 17 in a row that he got the last game on them," Riley said. "Flip is very good at devising a plan to contain him. I was just as frustrated as Dwyane."
This guy has been through it all and is what I like to call a real and true soldier, a warror even that I feel sorry that this has had to happen to him. If anyone right now deserves a championship its definetly Mourning.
i wish his career was in danger he hates new york and we hate him
