A long string of mistakes added up, allowing underdog LA Lakers to come out with a 97-93 upset of Houston. "We may have a great ranking," said Houston coach Bob, "but nobody's going to win many games playing like that. We got to where we are by a combination of talent, game plan, and solid execution. But the execution and game plan went out the window today, and LA Lakers took the gift win."

LA Lakers coach Andreas Helmle was nearly as surprised afterwards. "That sure wasn't what we had prepared for. We figured we were going to have to battle to avoid the blowout, but they just self-destructed out there and gave us the win. We'll take it, of course, but we don't expect to get that lucky in the future."

LA Lakers was led by Bailey (35 points, 22 boards, 1 assists, 3 blocks), Carter (12 points, 13 boards, 3 assists), Johnson (10 points, 7 boards, 4 assists). Houston was led by Howard (33 points, 2 assists, 4 blocks), Conner (29 points, 5 boards, 1 assists), Rogers (6 points, 12 boards, 5 assists, a steal, a block).

After today's victory, LA Lakers are now 11-20. They improve to #4 in the Pacific and improve to #13 overall in the Western Conference. Houston fall to 19-11 and 12-3 at home. They hold at #1 in the Southwest and stay at #3 overall in the Western Conference.

box score LA Lakers* roster Houston roster