Orlando came into this game being told by fans, the press, and Vegas that they had no business being on the same field with Detroit. They proved everybody wrong as Davis led them to a tie at the end of regulation. In the end though, the talent and depth of Detroit was just too much and the favorites picked up the win in overtime, 113-109.

Merriman paced Detroit, who looked surprisingly vulnerable in this game. As the game went to overtime, Detroit own fans could be heard heckling them with chants of "Overrated". Apparantly that was enough to get the team fired up, and they were able to prevail. An exhausted coach David Smith had few positive comments after the game. "Man, they gave us all we could handle. I don't know where our focus was tonight. Fortunately we woke up in time."

Coach Bob was pleased with his team's effort, but disappointed by the results. "Obviously you want to pick up the win. We relish the role of being the underdog. We fought the good fight, but in the end they were just too much for us. This is just another step in our goal of becoming a powerhouse."

Detroit was led by Merriman (29 points, 7 boards, 0 assists, a block), Marko (25 points, 2 blocks), Duckworth (8 points, 5 boards, 11 assists, a steal). Orlando was led by Davis (40 points, 2 steals), Braziel (19 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks), Hervey (12 points, 8 assists, 2 steals).

Detroit jump to 51-21 and 28-7 at home with today's victory. They have clinched the Central crown and improve to #1 overall in the Eastern Conference. After the loss, Orlando are now 28-43. They stay at #4 in the Southeast and stay at #11 overall in the Eastern Conference.

box score Detroit* roster Orlando roster