"Now you can call him the Big Footnote.

After months of speculation about his return from a sore right Achilles tendon, Shaquille O'Neal's eight-minute appearance was the least of what went into the Celtics' 97-81 win over Miami last night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

He finished with two points and didn't grab a rebound, but O'Neal clogged some valuable space in the midst of the Celtics' best defensive performance of the playoffs.

"In the first half he struggled, and then in the second half he was phenomenal," said C's coach Doc Rivers, who was especially impressed with O'Neal's ability to mesh with the second unit on such short notice.

"I thought Shaq had a big impact on the second half, just with his presence," said Rivers. "Shaq came out of it good."

The ultimate test, of course, will be how O'Neal feels when he wakes up this morning and heads to the team's workout facility in Waltham for a low-impact film session."