Indiana at Detroit

In yet another rematch of one of the more infamous games in sports history the Indiana Pacers travel Friday Night to the scene of "the fight," the Palace at Auburn Hills. Waiting for them will be the second-place Detroit Pistons who find themselves in need of a win after two losses in a row. The Pacers also need to win as they are locked in a four-way struggle with Philadelphia, New Jersey and Orlando for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. At 34-33 the Pacers could even move up a notch in the standings if they could string together a few wins and overtake the Chicago Bulls, currently in sixth at 35-31. Indiana is off a win against the the Tim Duncan-less San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night, winning at home 100-93. The win snapped a two-game losing streak. Unfortunately for the Pacers both losses were to the Nets and that gave added impetus to the New Jersey playoff push. Prior to these two losses the Pacers had won and covered four-of-five. But they have struggled on the road. Their road record is 14-19 (14-17-2 ATS) and they have won and covered just two of their last five away. The lack of forward Jermaine O'Neal who is sidelined with a shoulder injury has hurt them. Indiana isn't the only team that has been playing shorthanded. Detroit has also played shorthanded lately, after guard Rick Hamilton sprained his ankle Sunday in a 110-101 home win over the Spurs. Without Hamilton the Pistons went on the road and dropped back-to-back games at Clevelandand Philadelphia Tuesday and Wednesday nights. The losses dropped the Pistons to 42-25 on the year and 32-35 ATS. At home the Pistons have won 12 in a row and are 9-3 ATS in that stretch, which has made this line big. The Pistons and Pacers are meeting for the third time this season. Indiana won the "brawl game" in November 97-82 as a 5.5-point dog. Detroit took a Christmas Day rematch in Indiana 98-93 as a 3.5-point favorite and followed that up with a 88-76 January 27 win as a 2.5-point chalk. Detroit is 12-7 ATS its last 19 trips to Indiana and 6-2 ATS. The sportsbooks figure to open opened this one with a huge spread but we'll look the other way as Indiana should keep it much closer. Two stars on the Pacers.