It has been a nightmare season for veteran coach Andreas Helmle and his team. The bright points have been few and far between, as the team is looking for somewhere to hide. Today's game was equally painful, as the team opened up strong but collapsed down the stretch, failing to take advantages of numerous opportunities to get back in the game. Ortega helped put the nail in the coffin today with his outstanding game.

"Andreas Helmle talked a lot of junk before the start of the season." stated New Orleans Ortega. "They may be one of the worst teams in the league, but we know that everyone in that locker room wants to play just a little harder when they see LA Lakers on their schedule."

"Sure, they do stink." added head coach Bob, "but look at what happened when teams have been overconfident against them. Not that I can really blame them. If we were that pathetic, I think I would rather play all rookies and lose that way then be embarrassed."

New Orleans was led by Ortega (18 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, a block), Belgrave (14 points, a steal, 3 blocks), Forde (15 points, 8 boards, 0 assists, a block). LA Lakers was led by Richardson (19 points, 14 boards, 3 assists, a block), Jenkins (22 points, 1 assists, 2 blocks), Dixson (6 points, 3 steals, a block).

New Orleans jump to 3-0. They improve to #1 in the Southwest and improve to #1 overall in the Western Conference. LA Lakers are now 0-2 and 0-2 at home. They hold at #4 in the Pacific and drop to #13 overall in the Western Conference.

box score New Orleans roster LA Lakers* roster