USA TODAY International Edition
Spurs creeping up on Warriors
USA TODAY Sports’ NBA power rankings for Week 18 ( Feb. 26 through Saturday; records, standings and statistics reflected through Saturday’s games).
1. (—) Golden State Warriors ( 50- 11): The biggest news of the week for the Warriors came Wednesday, when it was announced that Kevin Durant would miss at least four weeks with a Grade 2 knee ligament sprain and tibial bone bruise. Reigning back- to- back MVP Stephen Curry said the Warriors would “be fine” in Durant’s absence, but with last Tuesday’s loss to the Wizards ( Durant played two minutes before leaving) and Thursday’s loss to the Bulls ( the Warriors scored 87 points to Chicago’s 94) — the gap between the Warriors and the second- place Spurs is closing quickly.
2. (—) San Antonio Spurs ( 48- 13): Riding an NBA- best seven- game winning streak, San Antonio’s last three wins came by the skin of its teeth. But they were wins all the same. On Wednesday, Kawhi Leonard hit a winning jumper in the final seconds in a one- point win against the Pacers. On Friday, the Spurs held on to beat New Orleans in overtime when a potential tying three- pointer from DeMarcus Cousins missed wide left. On Saturday, the Spurs fought back after a slow start to beat the Timberwolves by seven in overtime.
3. (+ 1) Houston Rockets ( 44- 19): The Rockets have scored an NBA- best 116.9 points per 100 possessions during their last 10 games — eight of which have been wins. They also have the NBA’s eighth- ranked defense ( 104.7 points allowed per 100 possessions) during that span.
4. (- 1) Cleveland Cavaliers ( 42- 19): The Cavaliers went 2- 2 in Week 18. In the win against Atlanta, the defending champs knocked down an NBA- record 25 three- pointers. In a loss to Miami, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving — who combined for 81 points against Atlanta — took the night off.
5. (—) Utah Jazz ( 38- 24): The Jazz had two wins and two losses. In a loss to Oklahoma City, Utah squandered a four- point lead in the final minute as Russell Westbrook hit a three- pointer and converted a three- point play. In a loss to Minnesota, the Jazz shot 38.9% from the field, 21.1% from beyond the arc and 54.5% from the free throw line.
6. (—) Boston Celtics ( 4022): With Wednesday’s down- tothe- wire, 103- 99 win against the Cavaliers, the Celtics proved fully capable of competing with the defending champs. Sitting comfortably in second place in the Eastern Conference, Boston is 21⁄ games behind Cleveland. 2
7. (—) Los Angeles Clippers ( 37- 25): After losing four of five, the Clippers pulled off a muchneeded win Saturday in Chicago, led by three- time Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford, who finished with 25 points on 10for- 17 shooting. Now in fifth place in the Western Conference, expect the Clippers to fight with fourth- place Utah ( the Clippers have won the first two of the fourgame season series) for homecourt advantage the rest of the way.
8. (+ 1) Washington Wizards ( 36- 24): After stumbling out of the All- Star break, the Wizards put together a statement victory against the Kevin Durant- less Warriors. They followed it up with a nine- point win against the fourth- place Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, led by recently acquired sixth man Bojan Bogdanovic ( 27 points). The Wizards weren’t able to go back- to- back against Toronto, though, as they lost 114- 106 Friday, giving the Raptors the season series.
9. (- 1) Toronto Raptors ( 3726): The Raptors ( 4- 2 since AllStar break) have been able to survive without Kyle Lowry thus far, but the All- Star point guard is expected to be out until the playoffs, so Toronto will need other players to shoulder more of the scoring load moving forward. In Saturday’s loss to Milwaukee, AllStar shooting guard DeMar DeRozan was held to 11 points on 5for- 13 shooting.
10. (—) Memphis Grizzlies ( 36- 27): Chandler Parsons, who signed a four- year, $ 94 million contract in the offseason, has played just 32 games for the Grizzlies while recovering from multiple knee surgeries. He’s averaging career lows across the board: six points, 33.5% shooting ( 25% on threes), 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 19.7 minutes. Despite his struggles, Grizzlies coach David Fizdale is opting to keep Parsons in the starting lineup.
11. (—) Oklahoma City Thunder ( 35- 27): The Thunder lost two games despite superhuman performances from Russell Westbrook ( 46.5- point, 12.5- rebound, 6.5- assist averages). They also won two games behind justas- superhuman performances from Westbrook ( 42- point, 11- rebound, 10.5- assist averages).
12. (—) Atlanta Hawks ( 3427): The Hawks broke a threegame losing streak with a 114- 98 win Feb. 27 against Boston that was followed by a 100- 95 win against Dallas on Wednesday.
Their lone loss of the week came Friday to the Cavaliers. 13. (+ 3) Detroit Pistons ( 3032): The Pistons were embarrassed by New Orleans on Wednesday ( 109- 86), shooting 3for- 23 from beyond the arc and 3for- 17 from the free throw line, but responded with a 30- point rout of Philadelphia on Saturday. The Pistons sit in eighth place in the East, one game behind Chicago and 11⁄ games ahead of Mi2 ami and Milwaukee. 14. (- 1) Chicago Bulls ( 3131): Ten of Chicago’s 13 games left in March are against Eastern Conference opponents. Six of the games are against teams in the top eight of the Eastern standings, while the three Western Conference matchups are against Utah, Memphis and Houston. 15. (- 1) Indiana Pacers ( 3130): After losing seven of eight games, the Pacers put together one of their best wins of the season Feb. 27, a 117- 108 win against the Rockets. The Pacers almost followed it up with a win against the Spurs, but their efforts were spoiled by Leonard, who hit a winning jumper in the closing seconds. 16. (- 1) Miami Heat ( 29- 34) - 1
17. (—) Milwaukee Bucks ( 28- 33) -
18. (—) Denver Nuggets ( 2834) -
19. (—) Charlotte Hornets ( 27- 35) -
20. (—) Dallas Mavericks ( 25- 36) -
21. (—) Portland Trail Blazers ( 26- 35) -
22. (—) Minnesota Timberwolves ( 25- 37) -
23. (—) Sacramento Kings ( 25- 36) -
24. (—) New Orleans Pelicans ( 24- 38) -
25. (—) New York Knicks ( 25- 37) -
26. (—) Philadelphia 76ers ( 23- 39) -
27. (+ 1) Orlando Magic ( 2339) + 1
28. (- 1) Phoenix Suns ( 2042) - 1
29. (—) Los Angeles Lakers ( 19- 43) -
30. (—) Brooklyn Nets ( 1051) -
Power ranking, MVP and Rookie award voters: USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Zillgitt, Sam Amick, Kevin Spain, AJ NeuharthKeusch and Michael Singer; The Arizona Republic’s Doug Haller; The ( Memphis) Commercial Appeal’s Ronald Tillery; Detroit Free Press’ Vince Ellis; The Indianapolis Star’s Nate Taylor; The ( Bergen County, N. J.) Record’s Steve Popper; HoopsHype. com’s Jorge Sierra and Raul Barrigon; USA TODAY Sports Weekly’s Howard Megdal.