Houston beat New York by a score of 100-86, even catching some fans off guard. "We knew the lines in Vegas listed us as favorites," said Houston coach Bob. "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 New York."

Said New York star Fuller, "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."

Houston was led by Sims (16 points, 9 boards, 0 assists, a steal, 4 blocks), Lewis (24 points), Vigil (5 points, a steal). New York was led by Fuller (23 points, 2 assists), Stoute (8 points, 14 boards, 2 assists), Olson (15 points, 5 boards, 1 assists, a block).

Houston jump to 10-3 and 5-0 at home with today's win. They stay at #2 in the Southwest and hold at #4 overall in the Western Conference. New York are now 5-8. They hold at #3 in the Atlantic and fall to #11 overall in the Eastern Conference.

box score Houston roster New York roster