Shaq treats near-sellout to 15 points in 21 minutes

— -- MIAMI (AP) -- As a souvenir from his first encounter with Shaquille O'Neal wearing a Miami Heat uniform, Atlanta's Jason Collier walked away with five stitches under his left eye. Collier didn't have any luck either stopping O'Neal or staying unbloodied, allowing the center to more or less do as he pleased in his one and only preseason performance in his new home city. O'Neal had a nearly effortless 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes Monday night as Miami opened a big early lead and cruised past the Hawks 92-82. "I was going up and he was coming down, and I just got hit," Collier said. "It's a good thing we're getting to see him twice in the preseason -- it can only help me out trying to figure out how to play him. I'm not going to stop him. Hardly anyone can stop him." O'Neal decided to play after missing the Heat's two previous games with a sore hamstring. The game drew a near-sellout crowd of 18,454, and the Heat even had fans in the fourth-level balcony -- a section of the arena that was closed and curtained off for 40 of their 41 home games last season. O'Neal also had a surprise for the folks watching the game on cable television. After he swatted away Boris Diaw's layup to preserve a 26-point lead, he waved into a nearby television camera the moment he landed on his feet. It was one of many ways O'Neal found to say hello to his new city. "It looks like we have a pretty good team," O'Neal said. "I like all my players, I like the organization and I like the city. I'm at peace." He addressed the crowd prior to the opening tipoff, thanking those who purchased season tickets and telling everyone he was "glad to be here." O'Neal was also glad to see the overmatched Collier trying to stop him, scoring nine of Miami's first 11 points -- all from very short range. "I want to go out there and give the fans a good show, show them everything is going to be OK," said O'Neal, who had 11 points and two rebounds by the time he took his first rest with Miami leading 20-11. His blocked shot against Diaw with 1.9 seconds left in the first half helped Miami to a 55-29 lead. O'Neal played less than five minutes in the third quarter, his best moment coming when he fired a pass three-quarters of the length of the court that Dwyane Wade turned into a dunk. Atlanta, using a rotation that included four newcomers -- Antoine Walker, Al Harrington, Josh Childress and Kenny Anderson -- in the starting lineup, didn't get its deficit into single digits until the final 30 seconds. Wade led Miami with 18 points, and Walker had 25 for Atlanta.