AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) – The threat of a bomb in Indiana’s locker room delayed the start of the Pacers-Detroit Pistons game for 1 hour, 25 minutes Friday night.

Auburn Hills chief of police Doreen Olko said the switchboard at The Palace – the site of the melee between the teams 18 weeks ago – received a call from an unknown subject with a very specific threat that there was a bomb in the locker room.

The locker room had been searched Friday morning with bomb dogs, and it was searched again later in the afternoon. After the threat was called in, Olko said the locker room was searched again. Security was posted outside the door at all times after the initial search in the morning and during the rest of the day. “Nothing was found,” Olko said. “We are completely confident that the Pacers’ locker room and that this entire building is safe. If not, we wouldn’t be here.

“The game did not start on time because we had to make sure that everyone involved was at a comfort level that would allow them to start this game. That’s what took so long.”

The Pacers went on and off their bus about three times, according to their bus driver, and once left the loading dock and drove to a far end of the parking lot.

The Pistons had what they called “playoff-level security” in place for Indiana’s first game at The Palace since the Nov. 19 brawl.

between the teams at the arena that spilled into the stands, and back onto the court.

Shortly before the scheduled 8:10 p.m. start, Palace officials told the fans that the game would be delayed “due to unforeseen circumstances.” The arena was already nearly full, and fans were not evacuated. The crowd cheered when the big overhead TV screens were tuned into the Michigan State-Duke NCAA tournament game at about 8:30 p.m.

AP-ES-03-25-05 2156EST