Detroit overpowered New Orleans today, showing who is the better team. Most around the league expected this kind of result, but New Orleans head coach Bob was defiant until game time. "Underdogs, my ----. We've got enough talent and enough heart to play with anybody in the league." Afterwards, his tune had changed significantly. "We've got some work ahead of us before we can play at their level."

The only bright point for New Orleans was the great play by Jones, and Bob was quick to praise his star. "If the whole team had played with his energy, we'd have been able to play with Detroit. The bright side is that we know what he can do against them, and we'll try to build on that for our next meeting."

Detroit was led by Gilliam (29 points, 1 assists), Henderson (12 points, 11 boards, 1 assists, a steal, 3 blocks), Kay (22 points, 5 boards, 0 assists). New Orleans was led by Jones (23 points, 5 boards, 0 assists, a block), Williams (27 points, a block), Haines (12 points, a block).

Detroit stand at 34-5. They remain at #1 in the Central and hold at #1 overall in the Eastern Conference. With today's defeat, New Orleans stand at 14-25 and 9-11 at home. They hold at #4 in the Southwest and remain at #12 overall in the Western Conference.

box score Detroit* roster New Orleans roster