Portland may have finally put an end to questions with a 98-82 win over Utah today. The team has had its ups and downs recently, with some off-the-field incidents involving key players ruining the team's focus. Smith 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 Utah. Smith 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.

Portland was led by Smith (20 points, 3 steals), Jackson (33 points, 5 boards, 0 assists, 3 blocks), Kimbell (14 points, 6 boards, 0 assists). Utah was led by Patton (19 points, 7 boards, 1 assists), Cummings (15 points, 2 blocks), Feaster (9 points, 8 boards, 0 assists, a block).

With today's win, Portland are now 53-22 and 27-10 at home. They clinched the Northwest championship and remain at #2 overall in the Western Conference. Utah drop to 42-33 after the defeat. They remain at #3 in the Northwest and remain at #6 overall in the Western Conference.

box score Portland roster Utah* roster