A great game by Merriman led Detroit to a 104-86 defeat of Golden State. Although Golden State certainly planned for Merriman in their pre-game strategy, stopping him during the game turned out to be more of a challenge. "We thought we knew how to beat Detroit, but we were dead wrong," said Golden State coach Perez Suarez. "We figured we'd try to put them out of their game plan and try to limit Merriman's effectiveness, but it simply didn't happen - he was just too good."

Said Merriman, "I knew I had a target on my back, and took it as a challenge. If they're going to change their game plan to stop me, it gives me that much more desire to step up and perservere. Anyway, they know what I can do now, so we'll see if they dare try this strategy again." Tune in next time.

Detroit was led by Merriman (25 points, 1 assists, a steal), Askew (9 points, 4 steals), Bigelow (11 points, 11 boards, 2 assists). Golden State was led by Franklin (5 points, 18 boards, 2 assists, a steal, 2 blocks), Manson (5 points, 3 steals), Oden (17 points, 6 boards, 0 assists, 2 steals).

Detroit improve to 3-1 with today's win. They improve to #1 in the Central and move up to #1 overall in the Eastern Conference. Golden State stand at 0-4 and 0-4 at home with the loss. They hold at #5 in the Pacific and remain at #15 overall in the Western Conference.

box score Detroit* roster Golden State* roster