Miami ? There were reminders of Alonzo Mourning all around AmericanAirlines Arena on Thursday, even if the man himself was in a bed somewhere recovering from major knee surgery.

There was his son, Trey, a ball boy with the Heat this season, dribbling a basketball behind his back at halftime, looking a lot taller than an 11-year-old really should be, and still working even while his dad was hurting. It was a fitting tribute.

Almost every Heat player was doing his best Mourning impression, piling up impressive blocks.

There was his old team, the New Jersey Nets, the team Mourning and his family were sure he was destined to play for because it meant he was closer to his kidney specialist at the most crucial stage of his disease.

All that was missing was a grateful point skyward or a random biceps flex that’s entertaining and antagonizing at the same time.

You’ll have to get used to that from now on, tributes instead of the real Zo. Because the big man with enormous heart has no business trying to come back from this one.

To be knocked out of the game forever with a freakish injury is entirely unfair to the player who needed a borrowed body part just to see the floor again. But it’s also no reason to try to foolishly extend a career that already has been so inspiring.

Any desperate Heat fan would beg Mourning to try again. They figure recovering from torn tendons can’t be as difficult as returning from kidney replacement, trying to convince Mourning to “go out on his own terms.”

A desperate coach would think the same way. It’s why Pat Riley has already told Mourning of his “dream” – Zo blocking Tim Duncan’s game-winning attempt in Game 7 of next year’s Finals. And why he says he won’t let Mourning retire “in his mind,” because he “defies the odds” and has a spirit that will “never flatline.”

But Mourning didn’t sound like a man willing to try another painful comeback as he lay pounding the Philips Arena floor on Wednesday, telling Udonis Haslem “it’s over, it’s over.”

And there was a hint of resignation in Mourning’s comments after the game, when he said there were “so many other things that life has to offer for me.”

And there is a sense among Heat players that Mourning has called it a career, with Shaquille O’Neal saying he “lost a brother” and “I think he’s probably done.” As he should be.

Mourning knows a thing or two about “meant to be.” And if he was claiming “it’s over” before he even tried to stand on that right knee, then it’s over.

Mourning also knows a thing or two about perspective, so he’s probably pretty sure that another season of trying to will the Heat back into title contention just isn’t what matters anymore.

A Hall of Fame campaign wouldn’t be boosted any further by another year of the sixth man role. Another championship run is too far-fetched for this particular team next season, even with Mourning back on board. Another time-consuming, painful, exhausting rehab stint just wouldn’t be nearly worth the reward.