WATCH Rockets vs. Trail Blazers Live Stream Online: NBA 2016 Top Rivals, Playoff Rankings

Basketball's back for the official 2015-2016 NBA season, so get ready, MstarsNews readers!

The Houston Rockets battle it out on the court against the Portland Trail Blazers in Week 17 of the regular season on Thursday, February 25 at 10:30 p.m. EST from the Moda Center in Oregon. Read on to see where fans can watch and listen to a live stream of the highly-anticipated Thursday evening basketball game online and catch up-to-date feeds and coverage on highlight plays and scores.

Now heading into mid-season, Portland maintains a rather impressive top spot in Marc Stein's official NBA power rankings for ESPN.com, while Houston now lags a bit behind (out of a total 30 teams):

Trail Blazers (9): "Hell hath no fury like a Dame scorned (by Western Conference coaches). So much for that 2-9 career record for All-Star snub Damian Lillard against Steph Curry that we were talking about last week. The conversation now has to be about how the Lillard-led Blazers just became the first of five teams to beat the mighty Warriors this season andfollow that up with a win in their next game."

Record: 30-27 (6th in Western Conference).

Rockets (17): "After they elected not to trade Dwight Howard, this is a huge week for the Rockets. The team pegged to finish No. 3 in the West by ESPN Forecast has to visit both Utah and Portland in the increasingly tight race for the last few playoff spots in the West, with Portland just one win away from clinching the head-to-head tiebreak just like the Blazers did Sunday night against the Jazz."

Record: 28-29 (9th in Western Conference).

Tonight's big game will be broadcasted live on your local TNT sports channel and RTSW or CSNW.

For fans who want to try out a free live stream (which may mean downloading a torrent), click here. Also try this or another option.

Also check out NBA TV for more schedules and game updates.

ESPN, ESPN Scoreboard, and NBA.com are all good sources for up-to-date game coverage and feeds.

More radio listening options for Rockets and Trail Blazers.

Official NHL team websites: Rockets and Trail Blazers.

Enjoy the exciting b-ball game from the West Coast this evening, and always stick with MstarsNews for additional NBA gameday coverage this week. Which conference rival will snag the win tonight?