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Pacers-Pistons Preview

Mar 22, 2010 - 5:46 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Indiana (24-46) at Detroit (23-47), 7:30 p.m. EDT

The Indiana Pacers are all but assured of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight season, but they don't seem content to coast to the finish.

After an impressive home win over a postseason contender, the Pacers will try to snap a nine-game road losing streak by recording their first season sweep of the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.

Barring a spectacular run, Indiana (24-46) will likely finish with its worst winning percentage since going 28-54 in 1988-89, but it hasn't let another disappointing campaign affect their recent play.

The Pacers have won three of four and swept both games during a brief homestand over the weekend. After topping the Pistons 106-102 on Friday, they routed Oklahoma City 121-101 two nights later.

Danny Granger led Indiana with 32 points against the Thunder and helped hold star forward Kevin Durant to 16 points - a little more than half his season average.

"Teams come in here and kind of overlook us," forward Troy Murphy said. "They see our record and think it's going to be an easy 'W.' They probably figure that a team with our record would have packed it in by now."

Granger hasn't been any easier on the Pistons, averaging 28.9 points against them over the past two seasons.

Two days after the team said he would be out indefinitely with a cheek injury, Granger scored 29 points in Friday's win, and he had a team-best 25 in a 105-93 victory in the previous trip to the Palace on Jan. 22.

The Pacers are hoping a return there can help them avoid a season-high 10th straight loss away from home. Indiana dropped 10 in a row on the road last season Jan. 9-Feb. 18, but comes into Tuesday's game searching for a sixth straight victory over Detroit following eight consecutive defeats in the series, including five in a row in Auburn Hills.

While the Pacers are making strides to end their season positively, the Pistons are laboring down the stretch with five straight losses and a 2-12 record over the past four weeks.

They also suffered one of their most lopsided defeats of the season Sunday, falling 104-79 in Cleveland.

Jason Maxiell (16 points) and Charlie Villanueva (11) were the only players in double figures during the team's lowest scoring output in nearly two months. It also marked the fifth straight game the Pistons have allowed at least 104 points, and they've yielded 110.8 per game over that span.

"Every game is a challenge for us," coach John Kuester told the team's Web site. "That's the one thing we understand. Every opponent we play is a team we've got to be ready and locked in to play 48 minutes, regardless what their record is."

Even the return of Rodney Stuckey hasn't helped Kuester's club get back to winning. After missing six games following a collapse on the bench March 5 in Cleveland, Stuckey scored a team-best 25 points off the bench in Indiana but was held to four against the Cavaliers.