Memphis overpowered Portland today, showing who is the better team. Most around the league expected this kind of result, but Portland head coach Bob 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 Portland was the great play by King, and Bob was quick to praise his star. "If the whole team had played with his energy, we'd have been able to play with Memphis. 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."

Memphis was led by Whitfield (29 points, 21 boards, 3 assists, a steal), Dimascio (26 points, 2 assists, 3 blocks), Calloway (17 points, 1 assists, a steal, 4 blocks). Portland was led by King (16 points, 7 assists, 2 steals), Harper (15 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, a steal, a block), Hume (6 points, 7 assists, a steal).

With this victory, Memphis improve to 55-18. They have won the Southwest championship and improve to #1 overall in the Western Conference. Portland fall to 39-35 and 25-14 at home with today's loss. They stay at #2 in the Northwest and hold at #6 overall in the Western Conference.

box score Memphis roster Portland roster