Pistons, Spurs battle in San Antonio

San Antonio is the third seed in the Western Conference playoff race, and is nine games behind the Southwest Division and conference-leading Dallas Mavericks.

Detroit is in first place in the Central Division and currently owns the top spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Pistons are 2 1/2 games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This is the second and final meeting of the campaign between the clubs. On February 14th, Tim Duncan scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Manu Ginobili contributed 20 points as San Antonio defeated the Pistons, 90-81, at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Detroit has lost 14 of its last 17 at San Antonio. The Pistons have won three of the last five contests in the series.

The Pistons play the third of a four-game road trip. On Thursday, Yao Ming scored 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets over Detroit, 91-85, at the Toyota Center.

Antonio McDyess scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Pistons, who have lost three of their last four games overall. Rasheed Wallace had 13 points and nine boards, and Chauncey Billups added 13 points and six rebounds for Detroit.

All-Star guard Richard Hamilton (bruised thigh) is questionable for the Pistons. Hamilton leads the Pistons in scoring (20.4 ppg) and has missed two games this season.

Detroit is 23-11 on the road this season. The Pistons will visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday at the Bradley Center.

San Antonio plays the finale of a short two-game homestand. On Wednesday, Duncan scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Spurs to a 90-72 victory over the Indiana Pacers at the AT&T Center.

Tony Parker contributed 10 points and four assists, while Francisco Elson ended with 14 points on 6-of-8 from the floor in the win. Duncan finished 11- for-16 from the field for the Spurs, who held Indiana to just 35.4 percent shooting from the floor.

Matt Bonner, who was acquired in a trade from Toronto during the offseason, had a strong game against the Pacers. He came off the bench and scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 22-plus minutes of action for San Antonio.

The Spurs are 23-9 at home this season. They are scheduled to visit Seattle on Sunday at KeyArena and Golden State on Monday at ORACLE Arena.