Detroit overpowered LA Lakers today, showing who is the better team. Most around the league expected this kind of result, but LA Lakers head coach Andreas Helmle was defiant until game time. "Underdogs, my ----. We've got enough talent and enough heart to play with anybody in the league." Afterwards, his tune had changed significantly. "We've got some work ahead of us before we can play at their level."

The only bright point for LA Lakers was the great play by Burdette, and Andreas Helmle was quick to praise his star. "If the whole team had played with his energy, we'd have been able to play with Detroit. The bright side is that we know what he can do against them, and we'll try to build on that for our next meeting."

Detroit was led by Gilliam (29 points, 0 assists, a steal, a block), Graham (18 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, 3 blocks), Kay (20 points, a block). LA Lakers was led by Burdette (23 points, 3 blocks), Gavagan (12 points, 10 boards, 1 assists), Washington (6 points, a steal).

Detroit extended their winning streak 5 games and are now 24-1 and 13-0 at home. They stay at #1 in the Central and remain at #1 overall in the Eastern Conference. LA Lakers are now 6-17 with the loss. They remain at #5 in the Pacific and remain at #14 overall in the Western Conference.

box score Detroit* roster LA Lakers* roster