Australian Luke Schenscher has been given a lesson from one of the NBA's most dominant forces as the Chicago Bulls lost the game five of their playoff series against Miami Heat.

The Bulls went down 78-92 and are on the brink of losing the series at 2-3, but it was the dominance of Shaquille O'Neal that most intimidated Schenscher.

The 23-year-old rookie has averaged two points and two rebounds in just seven minutes on court in the post-season, but was given more than ten minutes on the court in game five, much of which was during crucial periods of the game.

In place of Bulls big man Tyson Chandler, who was struggling with an ankle problem, Schenscher finished with five points and four rebounds.

Despite standing the same height as O'Neal, he found the going tough in defence against the American, with O'Neal finishing the night with 16 points and 10 boards, including two and two against Schenscher.

Miami superstar Dwyane Wade proved the difference, finishing with a game-high 28 points, as the Heat sealed the match with a 31-17 final-term blitz.

In New Jersey, Vince Carter scored 34 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to help the Nets to a 92-86 win over Indiana in the fifth game of their series.

Richard Jefferson had 24 points, while Nenad Krstic added 19 and 11 rebounds and Jason Kidd dished out a postseason franchise-record 15 assists for New Jersey.

The Nets now lead the series 3-2.

Phoenix has forced a sixth game in its series with the Los Angeles Lakers, after winning game five 114-97.

Boris Diaw was on fire for the visitors, shooing a play-off career-high 25 points. He fell just shy of a triple-double with 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Steve Nash added 22 points, while All-Star Shawn Marion scored 21 and Tim Thomas contributed 13 off the bench.

In San Antonio, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan led the Spurs to a 109-98 win to take a 3-2 lead in their series with the Sacramento Kings.

Ginobili finished with 27 points, while Duncan had 24 and Tony Parker shot 21.

Bonzi Wells shot a game-high 38 points for the Kings and grabbed 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough for the visitors who were decimated in the third term with the Spurs scoring 37-22.

NBA scores, May 2
Nets 92 Pacers 86
Heat 92 Bulls 78
Spurs 109 Kings 98
Suns 114 Lakers 97