The Houston Chronicle reports: Last night, Steve Francis played 36 minutes with a sore lower back and now might have to sit out tonight's game against Memphis.

"I'm definitely going to look at that tonight and tomorrow and think about longevity instead of the short-term thing," Francis said after Friday's game.

Francis treated the back throughout the game, wearing a heating pad when he was out and during some timeouts. He had arrived at Compaq Center on Friday, his 26th birthday, at 2:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. start and after hours of massage, decided he could play.

"It's pretty sore," Francis said. "I thought I could help my team. I'm not going to lie. I was definitely a couple steps slow tonight. Sometimes you have to play when you're hurt."