An order of bad sushi made all the difference today as New Orleans upset the favored Minnesota 107-97. Ziegler had a huge game for New Orleans, spoiling an otherwise solid performance by Minnesota star Smith in a game that could have post-season implications.

Minnesota apparantly had dinner together as team last night at a local sushi bar with most unfortunate results. Several team members spent the night in the hospital, while other team members got very little sleep as they rotated turns at their hotel room's toilets. The fatigue was evident from the beginning.

"You feel sorry for them," quipped New Orleans coach Bob. "That's a terrible thing to happen to anybody, but we had a job to do. There's no charity in this game." Minnesota coach Bob was apologetic to Minnesota fans. "Obviously we didn't see this coming, and I regret that we couldn't put a better product on the field today. I thought we still had enough to win, but it just wasn't going to happen."

New Orleans was led by Ziegler (31 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, a block), Obryant (13 points, 9 boards, 2 assists, 3 blocks), Williams (8 points, 8 boards, 2 assists, 3 blocks). Minnesota was led by Smith (35 points, 1 assists), Dirks (15 points, 2 assists, 3 blocks), Daniels (10 points, 4 assists, 2 blocks).

New Orleans are now 28-35 with today's win. They stay at #5 in the Southwest and stay at #13 overall in the Western Conference. Minnesota stand at 34-29 and 19-11 at home with today's defeat. They remain at #4 in the Northwest and remain at #8 overall in the Western Conference.

box score New Orleans roster Minnesota roster