NBA Power Rankings: Warriors feeling pressure from Rockets, Celtics' epic collapse drops them from No. 1 spot

NBA Power Rankings: Warriors feeling pressure from Rockets, Celtics’ epic collapse drops them from No. 1 spot

The past few weeks at the top of the Power Rankings have mirrored the thought process of many NBA fans throughout the season. One week you’re convinced the Boston Celtics are the best team in the league, and the next week, you think there’s absolutely no way anyone is beating the Denver Nuggets in a seven-game series.

True to form, the Celtics and Nuggets flip-flopped once again, with Denver taking the No. 1 spot this week after Boston relinquished a 30-point lead in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. Yikes. Meanwhile, the Nuggets keep chugging along, even winning a game without Nikola JokicandJamal Murray this week.

Crashing the top-five party are the Milwaukee Bucks, this week’s biggest risers with a five-spot jump after an impressive blowout win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. They also tightened their grip on the No. 2 seed in the East thanks to a few more losses by the Cleveland Cavaliers — coincidentally the week’s biggest fallers in the rankings.

Losing isn’t a familiar concept for the Houston Rockets, who have rattled off nine straight wins and are breathing down the necks of the Golden State Warriors for the final Play-In Tournament spot out West. It’s pretty remarkable considering that Houston has done all this without Alperen Sengun, arguably its best offensive player this season before his ankle injury.

With just three weeks left in the regular season, as we start to feel the heat from the postseason fire, here are the latest NBA Power Rankings:

Biggest Movers 5 Bucks 9 Cavaliers

Rk	Teams	Chg	Rcrd
1	Nuggets	No matter how good your team is, it’s still impressive to win a road game without your two best players. That’s exactly what the Nuggets did without Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in Portland on Saturday en route to a perfect 4-0 week. Jokic returned to put up a casual 29, 11 and eight in Monday’s win over the Grizzlies. Denver is back in familiar territory as the West’s top seed.	1	51-21
2	Celtics	It just goes to show you how good this league is, when the Celtics led Atlanta by 30 on Monday, well on their way to a 10th straight win, but they lost concentration and wound up taking the unexpected L. We won’t read too much into it, since the Celtics have been utterly dominant, but it was enough to cost them the No. 1 spot in the rankings this week.	1	57-15
3	Timberwolves	The Wolves continued their admirable play without Karl-Anthony Towns, nearly pulling off a stunner against the Nuggets before beating the Cavs and Warriors. This week was particularly notable because they were able to win despite a rough stretch from Anthony Edwards, who averaged 19.5 points on 37% shooting in the two victories.	—	49-22
4	Bucks	The Bucks made things interesting against the Celtics without Giannis Antetokounmpo to start the week, then finished things with a blowout win over the Thunder on Sunday. Milwaukee has now won five of its last seven games, scoring over 121 points per 100 possessions during that span. Damian Lillard was in the running for Eastern Conference Player of the Week with averages of 24 points and eight assists on 50% 3-point shooting.	5	46-25
5	Thunder	The Thunder had their four-game winning streak rudely brought to a halt with a 25-point thrashing at the hands of the Bucks on Sunday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s production has dropped ever so slightly over the last eight games, averaging “just” 26 points on 32% 3-point shooting. More notably, his free throw attempts have fallen from nearly nine per game to seven. It’s something to track as the playoffs draw near.	1	49-21
6	Pelicans	The Pelicans received a scare with an ugly knee injury to Brandon Ingram, and were relieved to hear there was no structural damage. There wasn’t any letdown, as New Orleans won both games after Ingram went down — that’s the luxury of having a scorer like CJ McCollum, who averaged 27 points on 11-for-21 3-point shooting in the victories.	1	44-27
7	Knicks	Even the red-hot Knicks couldn’t muster enough for a win in Denver, but they beat up on the Nets and Pistons to keep the train rolling. The Knicks now have the NBA’s third-best net rating since acquiring OG Anunoby, as they continue to fight for a top-three seed — which would crucially avoid a potential second-round matchup with the Celtics.	1	43-28
8	Kings	The Kings have now lost to the Trail Blazers, Hornets, Pistons and Wizards this season, and yet, they still own the sixth-best record in the West. This is a weird team. Domantas Sabonis has crept under the radar for most of the season, but he just set the NBA post-merger record for consecutive games with a double-double (54). Give that man his flowers. Also, Sacramento is very close to being top-10 in offense and defense since the All-Star break. Eyes emoji	—	42-29
9	Magic	Orlando had multiple attempts to beat the Kings in the final seconds, but couldn’t complete a perfect week after wins over the Hornets and Pelicans. Still, the Magic are one of the league’s hottest teams, winners of 11 of their last 15 games. Jonathan Isaac has quietly put up a tremendous (healthy!) season defensively, and he showed off his offensive chops with a career-high 25 points in the loss to Sacramento.	2	42-29
10	Mavericks	The Mavs took care of business against the Spurs and twice against the Jazz this week, as they try to stay above that dreaded Play-In Tournament line in the standings. It shows how much Luka Doncic has spoiled us that a week of averaging 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds is considered subpar. The addition of Daniel Gafford continues to look like a stroke of genius, as the big man averaged 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks in the three games this week.	—	42-29
11	Pacers	The Pacers won three of four games this week (and the loss to the Lakers could be attributed to the officiating crew, according to Rick Carlisle). The offense was in high gear, averaging 132 points in their four games this week, as Tyrese Haliburton appears to finally be breaking out of his prolonged slump. Indiana is clinging to the No. 6 seed, attempting to avoid the Play-In Tournament.	3	41-32
12	Suns	Just when we thought the Suns are starting to put it together, they lose to the Spurs without Victor Wembanyama — not ideal when you’re fighting for a Western Conference playoff position. Even with the loss, Phoenix has won seven of its last 11, and can realistically move anywhere from the No. 4 seed to No. 9 over the home stretch. Up next: games against the Nuggets, Thunder and Pelicans on the road. Buckle up.	1	42-30
13	Heat	If Miami ends up facing the Cavs in the first round, this week should give the team some confidence — in case it needed any more. Miami beat the Cavs twice in five days, the second one by nearly 40 points. Terry Rozier hit what turned out to be the game-winning step-back 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the first win over Cleveland, and averaged 17 points for the week on 44% 3-point shooting.	3	39-32
14	Cavaliers	Three losses this week — two to the Heat — saw the Cavs drop crucial ground to the Bucks in the race for the No. 2 seed in the East. The good news is that Evan Mobley returned on Sunday after a nine-game absence, averaging 16 points, six rebounds and five assists in two games.	9	44-28
15	Clippers	Sunday’s 14-point home loss to the 76ers prompted Ty Lue to say that his team needed to “wake the hell up.” They responded by … losing by 17 at home to the Pacers nearly 24 hours later. I guess they hit the snooze button a few too many times. The defense continues to be the major issue, which reeks of a lack of effort and cohesion. Russell Westbrook’s return on Monday at least brought some energy, as he put up 14 points, seven assists and four rebounds in 18 minutes.	3	44-27
16	Lakers	Only two games this week for the Lakers, and they won both in quite contrasting fashion. They scored 101 points in a defensive-minded win over the 76ers, then put up 150 in Sunday’s five-point victory over the Pacers. Anthony Davis was named Western Conference Player of the Week, averaging 30 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks in the wins. The Lakers are starting to develop a death-grip on the No. 9 spot.	2	39-32
17	Rockets	Well, well, well, look who’s back over .500 for the first time since January and just a half-game out of the final Play-In Tournament spot. It’s been a tremendous run from the Rockets, who have won nine straight games and put copious amounts of pressure on the Warriors, current holders of the No. 10 spot. During the streak, Houston has scored 123 points per 100 possessions with a plus-14 net rating. Jalen Green has continued his offensive assault since Alperen Sengun’s injury, averaging 34 points this week on 51/46/82 shooting splits. This is fun.	2	36-35
18	76ers	Outside of an impressive win over the Clippers on Sunday, the West Coast swing didn’t go well for the 76ers, who have fallen all the way to the No. 8 spot in the East. Offense has been the main issue, as the Sixers have put up just 108 points per 100 possessions since the All-Star break. Compare that to the 121 they were averaging with Joel Embiid on the floor. Any hope of the big man returning during the postseason may disappear if the 76ers get bounced in the Play-In Tournament.	3	39-33
19	Warriors	A month ago, when the Warriors were playing some of the league’s best basketball, who would have thought that they’d be fighting to the death for the final Play-In spot down the stretch? That’s what happens when you go 4-7 over your last 11 games, and the team below you — the Houston Rockets — literally never loses. Both Draymond Green and Steve Kerr mentioned “bad habits,” but all anyone in the Bay wants to talk about is Kerr’s unwillingness to play Steph Curry more than 35 minutes to get some wins.	2	36-34
20	Hawks	Do you believe in miracles? The Hawks pulled one off on Monday, erasing a 30-point deficit to beat one of the all-time great NBA regular-season teams in the Celtics. De’Andre Hunter hit the dagger (even though he probably shouldn’t have even shot it), as he averaged 19 points in a 2-1 week for Atlanta. Does the wild comeback give the Hawks hope for an upset in a potential playoff matchup with Boston? A lot has to happen before we get there, but perhaps that can be the case.	2	32-39
21	Bulls	It was three straight losses this week for the Bulls, the last of which was an embarrassing one to the Wizards without two of their three leading scorers. Getting to No. 8 appears to be out of the question for Chicago, and the Bulls will keep their focus on making sure they host the 9-10 game against the Hawks.	1	34-38
22	Jazz	Four losses this week make it six in a row overall for the Jazz, who are essentially playing with a different lineup every night. Lauri Markkanen continues to be very good when he’s allowed to play, averaging 28 points and five rebounds on 7-for-18 3-point shooting in his two games this week.	1	29-43
23	Nets	Mikal Bridges was compared to an envious Squidward by former Villanova teammate Josh Hart after a loss to the crosstown rival Knicks, as Brooklyn’s losing streak reached six games. The Nets turned things around, however, by holding the depleted Raptors to 88 points in Monday’s win. Yay?	2	27-45
24	Grizzlies	The Grizz were blown out by the Warriors and Nuggets this week, but they squeezed in a win over the Spurs in between. Desmond Bane has been unable to find the range since returning from injury, averaging just 10.5 points in the two losses this week on 30% field goals. Rookie GG Jackson — the youngest player in the NBA — continues to make his presence felt with the extra opportunity, averaging 21 points this week on 37% 3-point shooting.	3	24-48
25	Wizards	I’m done trying to understand things. The Wizards went from giving up at least 127 points in each of their last four losses to rattling off three straight wins while allowing an average of 105 points per 100 possessions. Not to mention Monday’s win over the Bulls came without two of their three leading scorers, Kyle Kuzma and Deni Avdija. Chaos is a ladder.	5	14-58
26	Spurs	Entering Monday night, the Spurs had one win this season without Victor Wembanyama. Now they have two — and the second came against the Kevin Durant-Devin Booker-Bradley Beal led Suns shrug. Jeremy Sochan hit the game-winning 3-pointer while San Antonio held the prolific Phoenix offense to just 102 points.	2	16-56
27	Trail Blazers	The Blazers were relatively competitive this week, but still lost all four games as multiple key players missed games (stop me if you’ve heard this one before). Scoot Henderson has fully grabbed the reins amidst all the absences, averaging 20 points and six assists this week on 40% 3-point shooting.	4	19-53
28	Hornets	Three more losses this week for the Hornets with an average margin of 28 points, including a 41-point drubbing at the hands of the Hawks. Rookie Brandon Miller was one of the lone bright spots, averaging 19 points and six rebounds for the week on 39% 3-point shooting.	2	17-54
29	Pistons	The Pistons reached 60 losses with a bang, falling to the Knicks by 25 points on Monday night. Former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman (remember him?) was pressed into action due to injuries, and the big man responded by averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds for the week on 67% shooting.	1	12-60
30	Raptors	Things are bad all around in Toronto right now, with the losing streak up to 11 games and one of their players — Jontay Porter — the subject of a gambling investigation. Some positive news is that RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley have both returned to the team after being out for personal reasons.	1	23-49

NBA Power Rankings: Warriors feeling pressure from Rockets, Celtics' epic collapse drops them from No. 1 spot

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