EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Shaquille O’Neal caught the ball deep in the low post, used his oversized posterior to bump Alonzo Mourning out of the way, then dropped in a layup with no one else around.

Miami’s new center had his way against a familiar face from the Heat’s recent past, shooting 7-for-9 from the field and scoring 16 points in a 100-77 victory last night over the Nets.

It was anything but a dominant debut in black for O’Neal, who was acquired over the summer from the Lakers for three starters and a first-round draft pick. But he certainly had his moments despite playing on a sore left hamstring, the best of them coming in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter against the player drafted one spot behind him in 1992.

Later in the second half, O’Neal got the ball in the low left block and hit a 10-foot baseline turnaround over Mourning for an 83-60 lead. Both players left for good moments later, O’Neal’s night a success because of the victory; Mourning’s an accomplishment simply because the former Miami center was able to play less than a year after undergoing a kidney transplant.

Mourning finished with seven points, five rebounds, and four fouls in 14 minutes for a Nets team that’s a shadow of the squad that reached the NBA Finals two of the past three years.

Richard Jefferson had 19 points to lead New Jersey, but he was the Nets’ only starter to reach double figures. Among the new starters for the Nets are Jacque Vaughn, who had four points and three assists in 22 minutes, and Eric Williams, who missed all six of his shot attempts and was scoreless with four fouls in 25 minutes.

Miami, which also changed a majority of its starting lineup, had six players in double figures. Dwyane Wade scored 21 with six assists and five rebounds, Udonis Haslem had 18, Rasual Butler 16, Damon Jones 15, and Eddie Jones 10.

O’Neal only touched the ball once on Miami’s first three possessions, all of which ended with scores for a 7-0 lead. The Heat got their edge up to 16 early in the second quarter before New Jersey – forcing O’Neal as far from the basket as possible on defense and shooting 12-for-19 on offense – pulled to 46-41 at halftime.

O’Neal had only six points and three rebounds in the first half, missing his first shot, making his next three and missing his last.

In the third quarter, O’Neal beat Mourning down court after winning a jump ball against him and scored easily over Eric Williams for a 50-43 lead before picking up his fourth foul seconds later. Miami didn’t miss him, going on a 24-13 run over the remainder of the quarter for a 74-56 lead entering the fourth period.