The start of the Pacers vs Pistons game was delayed Friday night when an unknown source called the Palace of Auburn Hills switchboard saying there is a bomb in Indiana's locker room.

It caused a 90-minute delay of the rematch between the teams after the Pacers first visit since the infamous November 19 brawl with spectators.

Officials received a call less than an hour before the scheduled tip off.

Police checked over the locker room and found no sign of explosives.

When the Pacers received word of the arena bomb threat, players and coaches retreated to the bus and remained in the parking lot for nearly an hour.

Even after the threat was determined to be a hoax, several Indiana players reportedly still did not want to play, but league officials told the them that

if they did not play, the Pacers would forfeit the game to the Pistons.

The teams have played twice in Indianapolis without incident since the chaos that led to legal charges, major suspensions and are vamped NBA security policy at all league games.

A fan hurled a beverage cup at Indiana's Ron Artest late in their November 19 game in the Palace to face the reigning NBA champions. Artest ran into the stands and punched another fan. Other spectators leaped to the fan's defense and teammates went to Artest's aid.

By the finish, fans were running onto the court and being punched by Pacer players, who exited with the aid of police under a hail of garbage.

That game was canceled with less than a minute to play, and NBA Commissioner David Stern suspended Artest for the remainder of the season for his part in the brawl, in addition to suspending eight other players for their role in the fight.

Source: Xinhua