Editing Indiana Pacers (section)

===Detroit Pistons===
{{Further|Malice at the Palace}}
The Pacers and Pistons met for the first time in the [[1990 NBA playoffs|1990 Playoffs]]; the Pistons swept the Pacers in three straight games on their way to their [[1990 NBA Finals|second straight NBA championship]]. But the rivalry truly began in the 2000s, specifically during the [[2003–04 NBA season|2003–04 season]]. The Pacers finished with a league-best 61 wins and were led by [[Jermaine O'Neal]], [[Ron Artest]], and [[Reggie Miller]], and coached by [[Rick Carlisle]]. Carlisle had been fired by Detroit at the end of the previous season. Detroit was led by [[Chauncey Billups]], [[Ben Wallace (basketball)|Ben Wallace]], [[Rasheed Wallace]], [[Tayshaun Prince]], and [[Richard Hamilton (basketball)|Richard Hamilton]], and coached by former Pacers head coach [[Larry Brown (basketball)|Larry Brown]]. Indiana won the first three matchups in the regular season, before being defeated by the Pistons in the final regular-season meeting at the Palace. That was also the first time the two met after [[Rasheed Wallace]] was traded to Detroit.

They met in the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals. Indiana narrowly won Game&nbsp;1, thanks to some late heroics from Miller. Rasheed, unimpressed, stated "they will not win Game&nbsp;2" during an interview before the second game (locally known as the "Guaran-Sheed" victory). Late in Game&nbsp;2, Detroit held a two-point lead, Billups turned over the ball, and Miller appeared to have an uncontested lay-up that would have tied the game. However, before Miller could score, he was chased down by Prince, who leapt from behind and blocked the shot. Near the end of Game&nbsp;6, when Detroit held a slight lead, Artest committed a flagrant foul on Hamilton, which nearly caused tempers to boil over. Detroit won the series 4–2, and went on to win the NBA title.

On November&nbsp;19, 2004, at [[The Palace of Auburn Hills]], what has become known as the [[Malice at the Palace]] took place. Nine players were suspended for varying lengths after a violent altercation in the stands.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kurtz |first=Jeffrey B. |date=April 2019 |title=With Malice Towards All? Moral Authority, Violence, and the (Affective) Discipline of Basketball (Bodies) |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2167479517747870 |journal=Communication & Sport |language=en |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=157–175 |doi=10.1177/2167479517747870 |s2cid=148725283 |issn=2167-4795}}</ref> Artest received the longest penalty: the remainder of the season.

That year teams split the four regular season meetings. They met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and split the first two games. The Pacers blew an 18-point lead, but still won Game&nbsp;3 in [[Indianapolis]]. However, just as he did a year earlier, Rasheed promised a win in Game&nbsp;4 saying, "When we return, we will be tied at two". The Pistons won Games&nbsp;4 and 5. The Pacers, knowing a loss would lead to Miller's retirement, fought hard, but fell to the Pistons 88–79.