Tapping into their ability to win ugly, the Indiana Pacers were able to set themselves up nicely in the early goings that they could really step into the game when it began to open up. The result was Indiana winning all four quarters against the Detroit Pistons, snapping a 10-game road losing streak, and keeping pace for the fourth seed.
The Pacers led 18-15 after the first quarter, a score that seemed astronomically high for the basketball being played. Not surprisingly, both teams shot dreadfully (the Pacers had just one make outside of the paint in the entire quarter), though the feeling coming out of it was that Indiana had been successful in forcing Detroit turnovers, but unsuccessful in capitalizing off of them.