Detroit beat Washington by a score of 96-77, even catching some fans off guard. "We knew the lines in Vegas listed us as favorites," said Detroit coach David Smith. "And we knew we had a great shot going in, but really expected a more competitive game. I don't know whether we were really that good or whether they had something else on their minds. Whatever, we're thrilled to get this kind of win over an excellent team like Washington."

Said Washington star Edwards, "Coach kept yelling at us 'you know you're better than that,' and he was right. We just didn't have the intensity or whatever today, and it showed in our game. The good thing is that we know we can't play much worse than we did out there, and that we could have won if we'd played as good as we're capable of playing."

Detroit was led by Newman (22 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks), Delgado (27 points, 12 boards, 0 assists), Moore (6 points, a steal). Washington was led by Edwards (20 points, 0 assists, 2 blocks), Pearson (14 points, a block), Shaw (8 points, 2 assists, 2 steals).

Detroit are now 1-0 and 1-0 at home with this victory. They hold at #1 in the Central and advance to #1 overall in the Eastern Conference. Washington drop to 0-1 after today's loss. They move down to #4 in the Southeast and move down to #9 overall in the Eastern Conference.

box score Detroit* roster Washington roster