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Pacers and Pistons clash at The Palace

Dec 31, 2011 - 3:39 PM (Sports Network) - Central Division rivals off to polar opposite starts clash in The Palace Saturday when the winless Detroit Pistons play host to the unbeaten Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers received a scare on Friday night in Indy but managed to top Cleveland, 98-91, in overtime. The Cavs' Kyrie Irving, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft, had a chance to win it in the waning seconds of regulation after a great dribble move in the lane, but the Duke product blew a wide open layup to send things to the extra frame.

"Coach (Byron) Scott called a great play," Irving said. "It was a screen and roll. I got a great look at it. I just wish it would have went down, but it didn't."

Danny Granger then scored nine of his 22 points in the extra session as Indiana escaped with the win to improve to 3-0 on the season and beat the Cavaliers for the sixth straight time.

Roy Hibbert ended with 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Pacers while George Hill scored 15 and David West finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds on the night. Tyler Hansbrough also had a double-double of 11 points and 12 boards.

"We feel good about our ability to score late in games, but we obviously need to work on execution," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "I thought Roy Hibbert and David West late in the game and George Hill throughout the game were our best players."

Things haven't been going as smoothly for Detroit and its new head coach Lawrence Frank. The Pistons remained winless on Friday when Paul Pierce recorded 12 points in his season debut for the Celtics in a 96-85 Boston victory.

Greg Monroe scored 22 and had nine rebounds for the Pistons, who are off to an 0-3 start for the second straight season. Austin Daye contributed 11 points off the bench while Tayshaun Prince, Jonas Jerebko and rookie Brandon Knight all had 10 points for Detroit.

The Celtics went 15-of-21 from the field in the third quarter, led by nine points from Brandon Bass, who made all four of his shots in the frame as Boston turned a seven-point halftime lead into a double-digit advantage and ran away from the Pistons.

"That quarter (third) has been giving us problems in all three games," Monroe said. "We've got to come out of halftime with more energy. Just got to come out and withstand those runs. We've got to be the ones that make those runs as opposed to the other teams early in the third quarter."

Indiana, which will be looking to start 4-0 for the first time since 2004-05, opened the season six days ago with a 91-79 triumph over Detroit at the recently renamed Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indy. Overall the Pacers have taken nine of 11 over the Pistons but has dropped their last two visits to The Palace in Auburn Hills.