Showdown Game in Indy

There's no doubt about it, the marquee game of the night in the NBA is being played in Indianapolis as the Pacers face the Miami Heat.

Each team is a division leader and in the Eastern Conference race the Pacers top the Heat by two games. Miami leads the Southeast Division with a record of 48-21 while the Pacers are setting the pace in the Central with 51 wins and 20 defeats.

This is their third meeting of the season and first since Dec. 18 when the Heat won 97-94. In their first encounter, back on Dec. 10, the Pacers got the win, 90-84. At the moment neither team is doing all that well as each has lost five of the last 10 games.

The leading teams in the NBA's Atlantic Division race are both on the court tonight. First-place Toronto is in Boston while the second-place Nets are at Charlotte. In the standings the Raptors lead the Nets by just 1 1/2 games. Brooklyn has been the better team of late, having won four of its last five games. In the Bobcats the Nets are facing an opponent they have dominated, winning nine of their last 10 meetings. For the Raptors a game in Boston isn't welcome as they haven't won in the city in over six years.

San Antonio continues to have the best overall record in the NBA and tonight the Spurs are hosting Denver. In the race for the top seed in the Western Conference the Spurs lead Oklahoma City by 2 1/2 games. The Thunder have the night off.

The rest of the NBA schedule tonight has Phoenix playing in Washington, the Cavaliers in Detroit, New Orleans home to the Clippers, the Kings hosting the Knicks and the Grizzlies in Salt Lake City to play the Jazz.