Dwyane Wade may have been stricken with the flu, but Miami Heat big man Shaquille O'Neal stepped up to lead his side into the NBA finals for the first time in franchise history.

O'Neal scored 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting and grabbed 16 rebounds as the Heat routed the Detroit Pistons by 17 points (95-78) to claim game six and the Eastern Conference final series 4-2.

The centre's dominant effort was well backed up by Jason Williams who also had a night out with 21 points on 10-of-12 from the field.

Wade courageously played 37 minutes in the contest, but his illness was clearly restrictive, as the All-Star and unofficial series MVP finished with 14 points and 10 assists.

The Pistons, who contested the past two finals series, were led by Richard Hamilton's game-high 33 points, but he had little support as only two other Detroit players reached double-figures.

Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince scored 10 points apiece for the Pistons, but key player Chauncey Billups was held to just nine points on 3-of-14 shooting as his side's title hopes were ended by an emerging Heat outfit.

The respective teams' field goal percentage was telling, with Miami shooting a blistering 56 per cent (39-0f-70) while Detroit could manage only 27-of-81 for 33 per cent.

The Heat, under master coach Pat Riley, will play either Dallas or Phoenix in the title deciding best-of-seven series, with the Mavericks just one win away from advancing past the Suns.