Howie had a great game today to lead New Orleans to a 116-90 rout of Denver. "Howie played his heart out today, and the rest of the team followed," said Bob of his star's performance. "Admittedly this wasn't the toughest competition we've ever faced, but it's great to see a game where everything works as planned."

Faces were a bit longer in the Denver locker room. "Everybody knew that Denver are a great team and that it would take a flawless game on our part and some luck to beat them. But to lose by this kind of margin is disheartening. We were just completely ineffective out there. I'll have to look over the films and try to turn this into a learning experience. Certainly I can pick up some tips from Bob's coaching."

New Orleans was led by Howie (33 points), Gray (19 points, 3 assists, a steal), Fletcher (15 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, a steal, a block). Denver was led by Simmons (13 points, 8 boards, 0 assists, a block), Stanford (12 points, 7 boards, 0 assists, 2 blocks), Flournoy (19 points).

New Orleans stand at 43-29 after this victory. They stay at #2 in the Southwest and remain at #4 overall in the Western Conference. Denver stand at 54-19 and 29-9 at home with this defeat. They have clinched the Northwest title and hold at #2 overall in the Western Conference.

box score New Orleans roster Denver roster