USA TODAY International Edition
CLIPPERS, CELTICS RISE WITH STRONG RUNS
USA TODAY Sports’ NBA power rankings for Week 10 ( Jan. 2 through Saturday). 1. (—) Golden State Warriors: ( 31- 6):
The Warriors — who own the NBA’s best record, first- ranked offense ( 113.3 points per 100 possessions) and fourthranked defense ( 102.0 points allowed per 100 possessions) and are on pace for a third consecutive 67- plus win season — are hardly panicking after blowing a 24- point second- half lead in an overtime loss Friday to the Memphis Grizzlies. “You go through these hiccups, these road bumps, and it pokes air out of the balloon a little bit, but that’s what the regular season’s for,” back- to- back MVP Stephen Curry said. 2. (+ 1) San Antonio Spurs ( 30- 7): They won three games by an average of 24.3 points. 3. (- 1) Cleveland Cavaliers ( 27- 8):
The defending champs brought in veteran sharpshooter Kyle Korver from the Atlanta Hawks for Mike Dunleavy, Mo Williams and a 2019 first- round pick, adding another three- point threat to a unit ranked second in the NBA from beyond the arc. 4. (—) Houston Rockets ( 29- 9):
The Rockets are riding an NBA- best seven- game winning streak, in which they’ve av- eraged 120.3 points, and have gone 17- 2 since their overtime victory Dec. 1 against the Warriors. At this point last season, Houston was 19- 19. 5. (+ 3) Los Angeles Clippers ( 25- 14):
The injury- riddled Clippers have bounced back to win three in a row after ending 2016 on a six- game skid. 6. (- 1) Toronto Raptors ( 24- 12):
Now 0- 7 in games against the Cavs, Spurs, Warriors and Clippers, it’s clear as ever that if the Raptors have any hopes of competing for the Eastern Conference crown, moves must be made before the trade deadline. But who? And when? 7. (+ 3) Boston Celtics ( 2314):
Isaiah Thomas transformed his All- Star campaign into an MVP campaign, averaging 30.3 points on 51.8% shooting while leading the Celtics to three wins. 8. (- 2) Utah Jazz ( 23- 15): Utah’s two- point win against the Minnesota Timberwolves was more than just a mid- January victory vs. a young and inexperienced ballclub. It was the first time all season the Jazz had a roster that was fully healthy. 9. (—) Memphis Grizzlies ( 23- 16):
The Grizzlies’ comefrom- behind victory against the Warriors proved they’re fully capable of going toe- to- toe with the big dogs on any given night. 10. (- 3) Oklahoma City Thunder ( 22- 16):
Losers of four of their last six, the Thunder have dropped to seventh place in the Western Conference. 11. (+ 3) Milwaukee Bucks ( 18- 17):
The three- game winning streak ended Friday when they squandered an 18- point lead to the New York Knicks. 12. (—) Atlanta Hawks ( 2116): The Hawks are quietly riding a six- game winning streak. 13. (+ 2) Indiana Pacers ( 20- 18):
After a 15- 18 start, the Pacers are in the thick of things in the East, 11⁄ games behind the 2 fourth- seeded Hawks thanks to their five- game winning streak. 14. (- 3) Charlotte Hornets ( 20- 18):
The Hornets, who have lost four of their last five, are trending down. 15. (+ 1) Chicago Bulls ( 1918):
Jimmy Butler isn’t worried about all of the “hippidy- hoopla” surrounding him on the trade rumor front. The sixth- year swingman continues to climb the ranks as one of the league’s top two- way threats. 16. (- 3) Washington Wizards ( 17- 18):
Just as the Wizards were starting to look like legitimate playoff contenders, they blew a nine- point, secondhalf lead in a 113- 105 loss to the lowly Dallas Mavericks. 17. (+ 1) Detroit Pistons ( 1721):
The Pistons almost blew a 19- point fourth- quarter lead to the Hornets. 18. (+ 3) Portland Trail Blazers ( 16- 22):
A loss is a loss, but with an eight- point defeat to the Warriors, the Blazers — 21⁄ 2 weeks removed from a 45- point rout vs. the same team in the same arena — showed progress. 19. (- 2) New York Knicks ( 17- 20):
The Knicks broke their six- game losing streak with a comeback win vs. the Bucks but followed it up with a 14- point loss to the Pacers. 20. (—) Sacramento Kings ( 15- 21):
If the season ended today, the Kings — who have gone 1- 4 since a four- game winning streak in late December — would miss the playoffs for the 11th season in a row.
21. (+ 1) New Orleans Pelicans ( 14- 24)
22. (- 3) Denver Nuggets ( 14- 23)
23. (—) Orlando Magic ( 1622)
24. (—) Minnesota Timberwolves ( 11- 26)
25. (—) Los Angeles Lakers ( 14- 26) 26. (—) Miami Heat ( 11- 27) 27. (+ 1) Dallas Mavericks ( 11- 26)
28. (- 1) Phoenix Suns ( 12- 25)
29. (—) Philadelphia 76ers ( 9- 25)
30. (—) Brooklyn Nets ( 8- 27) List of Power ranking, MVP and Rookie voters: USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Zillgitt, Sam Amick, Kevin Spain, AJ Neuharth- Keusch and Michael Singer; The ( Memphis) Commercial Appeal’s Ronald Tillery; Detroit Free Press’ Vince Ellis; The Indianapolis Star’s Nate Taylor; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Charles Gardner; The ( Bergen County, N. J.) Record’s Steve Popper; HoopsHype. com’s Jorge Sierra and Raul Barrigon; USA TODAY Sports Weekly’s Howard Megdal.