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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Questions over the condition of Jermaine O'Neal's sprained left knee were going to be put to rest right then and there, the second Rasheed Wallace received the ball and jumped straight at the Indiana Pacers' wounded All-Star.

Ball met hand. Dunk attempt was sent back from where it came.

O'Neal was OK. And so were the Pacers, whose third-quarter domination of the Detroit Pistons included that snapshot of a highlight and many others in a stunning 83-68 victory at The Palace on Friday night.

O'Neal's recovery from a Joe Theismann-like bending of his left leg (without the ghastly break) was symbolic of the Pacers' unexpected turnaround to even the Eastern Conference finals at 2-2, regain the home-court advantage and inject drama in a series thought to be a formality in Detroit's ascension to the NBA Finals.

"I knew it wasn't going to hold him out," Jamaal Tinsley said. "He made shots and made play after play -- and got a couple of blocked shots and grabbed defensive rebound after defensive rebound. He played great for us tonight."

Missing only four minutes of the first half, O'Neal played a huge role in making this a best-of-three affair. Despite the bum wheel, he still totaled six points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots before halftime and finished with 12 points, 13 boards and four blocks in 38 minutes. His resolve and toughness sparked a Pacers club that had shot 32 percent and averaged 74.3 points in the first three games.

"The season has been a long season and our team has been through so much, and to go down early in the first quarter was hard for me," said O'Neal, who also limited Wallace to 10 points on 5-of-17 shooting. "But I went back to the locker room and they said everything was OK for me to play. So I decided to come back."

Right from the tip, Indiana's determination to claim the must-win could be seen in the body language of the Pacers, especially O'Neal, who had four rebounds, one block and four points -- both baskets were dunks -- in the first 10 minutes. He was clearly outplaying Detroit's Ben Wallace when, with 2:33 left in the quarter, he battled the Pistons' center for an offensive rebound.

O'Neal already had the ball in his hand when Wallace leaned backward into O'Neal, undercutting the Pacers' power forward-turned-center. Knocked off balance, O'Neal landed awkwardly with his left leg bending inward at the knee.

O'Neal fell to the ground writhing in pain and clutching his left knee. He had to be helped off the floor by Jeff Foster and Scot Pollard and, after getting tended to by the Pacers' trainer, tried to walk off the pain while circling the team's huddle during the ensuing timeout.

"When he fell, we were like, 'Uh-oh,' " Anthony Johnson said of the reaction on the Pacers' bench. "But I know he's a warrior. If he's able to walk, he's going to get out there and play. At first it was a little scary ... but we knew he'd be back."

"He got up and as we were leading him back to the huddle, he asked for us to let off," Foster said. "He wanted to walk by himself, so I knew it wasn't serious. He ended up being huge for us."

Amazingly, O'Neal stayed in the game and appeared to be OK after rejecting Mehmet Okur's shot with his left hand, but he didn't even bother taking part in the Pacers' next possession, walking off the floor and into the locker room after Al Harrington got fouled with 1:34 left in the quarter.

The Pacers appeared to be motivated by O'Neal's injury, closing out the quarter on a 9-2 run for a 29-17 lead. O'Neal returned with 10:31 left in the first half and didn't leave the court until 40.8 seconds remained. However, he did so shaking his head while walking to the locker room again for more treatment.

"It was hurting really bad," O'Neal said. "But you don't want to take too many chances. You just want to go back and see the doctors and pick their brain on what they thought it was. It was a tough time for me."

O'Neal started the second half with a sleeve over his left knee, but the strength of the knee remained a mystery. He hit his first shot but later hustled to save a ball going out of bounds, twisting around to throw the ball off a Pistons player and leaping over a row of photographers beyond the baseline. How would that affect his knee?

Turns out, it was fine. And he proved it with his biggest block of the night and a Game 4 effort that earned praise from a living Pacers legend.

"I always admire players who play hurt," Reggie Miller said. "I think he added another notch to his ever-growing legend in Indiana. ... Tonight was Jermaine's time to shine."

Joe Lago is the NBA editor at ESPN.com.