The Miami Heat (20-6) will make the trek to The Palace of Auburn Hills to take on the Detroit Pistons (9-22) in a Friday night NBA showdown. 

With superstar Dwyane Wade on the sidelines serving a one-game suspension, the Heat will look to 3-time MVP LeBron James to bring the team its seventh consecutive win against the Pistons.  James is averaging 25.8 points during the respective streak, which isn't too far off from what he's putting up for the season (25.6).

The NBA was forced to take disciplinary action against Wade for what appeared to be a kick he delivered to the groin of the Charlotte Bobcats' Ramon Sessions during Miami's 105-92 Wednesday night victory, which started off the Heat's four-game road trip.  Oddly enough, Sessions ended up being called for a foul on the painful play. 

Despite putting up his lowest overall scoring average (20.2) since his rookie season, Wade racked up 29 points in Wednesday's matchup on 10-of-19 shooting along with nine boards and five assists.  James had 27 points with 12 rebounds and eight assists. 

Although Miami is sporting a franchise best in terms of wins in its first 26 games, the team is just 6-4 on the road.

"We want to have a bunker mentality and a road warrior mentality when we hit the road.  We understand to this point we haven't played great basketball on the road," James told ESPN.

In its last 13 meetings versus Detroit, the Heat have won twelve of them, which includes seven consecutive wins since the Pistons defeated them by a score of 93-90 on Feb. 4, 2009.

CLICK HERE to watch the Miami Heat face off against the Detroit Pistons via live stream.  Coverage of the NBA game is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 28.

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