Houston may have finally put an end to questions with a 109-96 win over Portland today. The team has had its ups and downs recently, with some off-the-field incidents involving key players ruining the team's focus. Sims was at the center of the controversy, after being arrested for weapon violations just three days ago. His legal problems were sorted out quickly, but the attention drawn to the incident received more news than today's game against Portland. Sims let his play do the talking today, helping his team put the unfortunate incident behind him with a solid game. "Definitely nice to be asked about a game MVP performance than about an arrest," he said later on.

Houston was led by Sims (22 points, 13 boards, 3 assists, a steal, a block), Banks (11 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, a steal, 3 blocks), Battle (15 points, 7 boards, 0 assists, a block). Portland was led by Kimbell (31 points, 6 boards, 1 assists), Vanderveer (13 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, a block), Smith (10 points, a steal).

Houston are now 40-17 and 26-2 at home with the victory. They hold at #2 in the Southwest and stay at #4 overall in the Western Conference. Portland snapped their winning streak at 5 games, and stand at 32-26. They remain at #4 in the Northwest and hold at #8 overall in the Western Conference.

box score Houston roster Portland roster