Week 19 NBA power rankings: Spurs dethrone Warriors, Wizards enter top five
USA TODAY Sports' NBA power rankings for Week 19 (Sunday, March 5 through Saturday, March 11) of the 2016-17 season.
► NBA MVP race: Kawhi Leonard's campaign put on hold
► NBA ROY race: Dario Saric, Malcolm Brogdon take top spots
TEAM (RECORD) MOVEMENT
1. San Antonio Spurs (51-14) +1
The good news: The Spurs are just a half-game behind the Warriors for first place in the West and own the season series thanks to Saturday night's win, which could be the difference between facing the No. 7 seed in the first round (most likely Oklahoma City or Memphis) or the No. 8 seed (most likely a sub-.500 team like Denver, Portland, Dallas or Minnesota).
The bad news: MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard is in the league's concussion protocol until further notice after getting hit in the head during Thursday night's loss to the Thunder, while star forward LaMarcus Aldridge is out indefinitely with minor heart arrhythmia.
2. Golden State Warriors (52-14) -1
Forget the fact that the Warriors lost Saturday night's should-have-been marquee matchup against San Antonio by 22 points while Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala took the night off for rest. Since Kevin Durant went down with a Grade 2 MCL sprain on Feb. 28, the Warriors have dropped five of seven games and are shooting 43.4% from the field and 31.1% from beyond the arc — numbers that rank 27th in the NBA.
3. Houston Rockets (45-21) -
Mike D'Antoni — who became the fifth active coach to reach 500 career wins on Friday night — has coached some talented ball clubs over the years, most notably in Phoenix, where he led the Suns to four straight 50-plus win seasons. But as D'Antoni sees it, these Rockets — who sit comfortably in third place in the West and have the second-ranked offense in the league (112.1 points per 100 possessions) — are right up there.
"I've been around for a long time," D'Antoni told reporters after joining the 500-win club. "I've had some good teams, and this is one of my best."
IN PHOTOS: WEEK 19 POWER RANKINGS
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (43-21) -
It was a rough week for the defending champs, who lost recently-signed center Andrew Bogut for the season less than a minute into his debut on Monday night against Miami. The Cavs went on to lose the game, 106-98, and fell to Detroit on Thursday, 106-101, despite a triple-double (29 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists) from LeBron James. Their lone win came on Saturday against the Magic, 116-104, behind another triple-double (24 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds) from James.
5. Washington Wizards (41-24) +3
After a 2-8 start, the Wizards have climbed all the way up to second place in the East. They have the best record in the NBA (25-8) since Jan. 1 and are in the midst of a five-game winning streak. John Wall and Bradley Beal are averaging 53.7 points (on 49.3% shooting), five three-pointers (on 41.8% shooting) 14.4 assists, 8.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals in seven games in March. Need we say more?
6. Utah Jazz (41-25) -1
Before Saturday night's 112-104 loss to the Thunder, the Jazz had won four straight, including a 115-108 win over the Rockets on Wednesday. Led by shot-blocking phenom Rudy Gobert, who's making a strong case for Defensive Player of the Year, the Jazz boast the NBA's third-ranked defense (102 points allowed per 100 possessions) and are holding teams to 44.1% shooting, which ranks second.
7. Boston Celtics (41-25) -1
The Celtics started off the week on the wrong foot, losing to the Suns on a rare non-clutch moment from Isaiah Thomas that turned into a three-pointer at the buzzer by Suns guard Tyler UIis. The Celtics followed up the loss with a 116-102 loss to the Clippers on Monday and a 20-point beatdown by the Nuggets on Friday. Their lone win came on Wednesday — a 99-86 upset over the Warriors at Oracle Arena.
8. Los Angeles Clippers (40-26) -1
The Clippers have gone just 26-24 after starting the season 14-2. They have lost five of their last 10 and are now a game behind the Jazz for fourth place in the West. They own the season series with Utah 2-0, but two games remain (March 13 and 25).
9. Toronto Raptors (38-28) -
Until All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry (wrist) returns, we won't be able to truly gauge this Raptors team, which took a significant step forward, at least on paper, by acquiring Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker at the trade deadline. In nine games with Toronto, Ibaka is averaging 15.8 points (on 45.8% shooting), two three-pointers (on 42.9% shooting), 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.
10. Oklahoma City Thunder (37-29) +1
The Thunder put together two much-needed wins this week, snapping a four-game losing streak. The first came on Thursday against the red-hot Spurs (102-92), who had won their previous nine games. Russell Westbrook finished with his 31st triple-double of the season, tying Wilt Chamberlain for the second-most single-season triple-doubles in NBA history. The second win came on Saturday night against Utah (112-104), as Westbrook put together his 32nd triple-double of the season, inching closer to the record of 41 held by Oscar Robertson.
11. Atlanta Hawks (37-29) +1
The Hawks, who head to San Antonio on Monday night, are riding a three-game winning streak, highlighted by a dominant 107-90 win over the Grizzlies in Memphis on Saturday.
"I think that's every team's goal — to be on a roll going into the postseason," rookie forward Taurean Prince told reporters after the win. "That's what we want to do. We want to keep this streak going."
12. Miami Heat (32-34) +4
The Heat started out the season 11-30, riddled by injury and destined for the draft lottery. They've won eight of their last 10, 16 of their last 20 and 21 of their last 25, and are now a legitimate threat to sneak into the Eastern Conference playoffs.
"We believe in ourselves, first and foremost," Heat guard Dion Waiters, who's averaging a career-high 16.1 points per game, told reporters after Monday's win over the Cavaliers. "If other people don't, I think we did a good job of opening their eyes by the way we've been playing."
13. Memphis Grizzlies (36-30) -3
Over the last 10 games, only the Kings, Nets, Lakers and 76ers have a worse record than the Grizzlies, who are in the midst of a five-game losing streak.
"Mentally, I think we're in our own head," point guard Mike Conley said after Saturday's loss to the Hawks, per The Commercial Appeal. "We're individually hesitant, we're doubting our own self, and that's something that we've all got to look in the mirror and figure out what we can do to be better individually to help the team. And that's everybody.
14. Milwaukee Bucks (32-33) +3
During the Bucks' six-game winning streak, swingman Khris Middleton — who missed the first 50 games of the season after undergoing offseason hamstring surgery — is averaging 17.7 points (on 53.6% shooting), 1.8 three-pointers (on 40.7% shooting), 4.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 32.2 minutes. Milwaukee's true test awaits, though, as they begin a six-game road trip on Monday in Memphis, followed by Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland and Sacramento.
15. Detroit Pistons (33-33) -2
Don't let the two-spot drop fool you: Other than Wednesday's loss to Indiana, it was a great week for the Pistons, who now sit in seventh place in the East. With Saturday's 112-92 win over the Knicks, the Pistons reached .500 for the first time since Dec. 16 — a feat that forward Tobias Harris said "means a lot."
“It is something we have flirted with for some time now, getting there and dropping back off," Harris said, per Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. "Now it’s time for us to keep it moving and push forward and really make this final push.”
16. Indiana Pacers (33-32) -1
The Pacers sit in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings, but the Pistons and Bucks are hot on their trail. They own the season series with Detroit, but not with Milwaukee.
"We wanted it to be tied if it came down to a tiebreaker,” Pacers star Paul George said after Friday's loss to the Bucks, per Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star. “We’re down 0-3 to this team, so now we’ve got to do even more work because it’s going to come down to the wire.”
17. Denver Nuggets (31-35) +1
The eighth-place Nuggets put together one of their best wins of the season on Friday, beating the Celtics 119-99 behind 21 points (on 8-of-10 shooting), 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals from center Nikola Jokic, who missed the previous two games with an illness.
18. Chicago Bulls (31-34) -4
It was another week of mediocrity for the Bulls, who went winless, and in Friday night's loss to Houston, watched a 49-47 second-quarter lead turn into an 80-51 third-quarter deficit and an eventual 115-94 rout. Twelve Bulls players saw at least 12 minutes of court time in the loss, as coach Fred Hoiberg continues to struggle to find a rotation that works.
19. Charlotte Hornets (29-37) -
The Hornets went 2-2 this week, with wins over the Pacers (100-88 on Monday) and Magic (121-81 on Friday) and losses to the Heat (108-101 on Wednesday) and Pelicans (125-122 on Saturday). They now sit in 11th place in the East, 3½ games out of eighth place.
20. Dallas Mavericks (28-37) -
The Mavericks' week was overshadowed by Dirk Nowitzki, who on Tuesday night became just the sixth player in NBA history to join the 30,000-point club. Putting the milestone aside, the Mavericks won three of their four games — including a 104-89 rout of the Thunder— and are inching closer to the ninth-place Trail Blazers in the tight Western Conference playoff race.
GALLERY: DIRK NOWITZKI THROUGH THE YEARS
21. Portland Trail Blazers (28-36) -
A win over the Wizards on Saturday night would have been huge for the Blazers, who had won their previous four. Instead, they let up a 21-point halftime lead and gave Washington a 125-124 overtime victory on a controversial game-winner by Wizards forward Markieff Morris.
22. Minnesota Timberwolves (27-38) -
Since letting up 142 points in a loss to the Rockets on Feb. 25, the Timberwolves have been the top-ranked defense in the NBA — a small sample size, no doubt, but an improvement first-year head coach Tom Thibodeau recently called a "quantum leap."
23. New Orleans Pelicans (26-40) +1
Since trading for DeMarcus Cousins, the Pelicans have lost six of nine and are now five games out of eighth place in the West, with the Nuggets, Trail Blazers, Mavericks and Timberwolves all standing in the way. They did, however, pull out a 125-122 overtime win against the Hornets on Saturday night thanks to Anthony Davis, who finished with 46 points and 21 rebounds. Cousins, on the other hand, played just 25 minutes, scored 11 points (on 4-of-11 shooting), committed five fouls and gave away six turnovers.
24. New York Knicks (26-40) +1
After a 14-10 start, the Knicks' playoff hopes are getting smaller by the day — a downfall that nobody — not even Carmelo Anthony — seems to understand.
“Yeah, we talk — guys discuss that a lot,” Anthony said of the team's struggles after Wednesday's loss to the Bucks, per Steve Popper ofThe Record. “We talk about that amongst ourselves. Kind of what is it? What’s happening? Especially with the talent that we have in this locker room, we still can’t figure out exactly kind of what it is. It’s hard to pinpoint it.”
25. Orlando Magic (24-43) +2
The Magic were oh so close to starting off the week with a huge win over the red-hot Wizards, but gave up a 17-point lead, allowed a last-minute three-pointer and lost by one when an Aaron Gordon runner clanked wide left as time expired. The Magic then lost to the Knicks (113-105 on Monday), beat the Bulls (98-91 on Wednesday) and lost to the Hornets (121-81 on Friday) and Cavaliers (116-104 on Saturday).
GALLERY: NBA PHOTO OF THE DAY
26. Sacramento Kings (25-41) -3
The Kings have gone 0-8 since Feb. 25, which has essentially pushed them out of the postseason for the 11th straight year — the NBA's second-longest drought, behind the Timberwolves. The silver lining? The Kings will be able to keep their first-round pick, which would go to the Bulls if it fell outside the top 10.
27. Philadelphia 76ers (23-42) -1
The 76ers' struggles continued this week, as they lost to the Pistons, Bucks, Trail Blazers and Clippers by a combined 62 points. Since rookie star Joel Embiid (out for the season with a meniscus tear) played the last game of his inaugural season (Jan. 27), the 76ers, who were 17-28 at the time and had the NBA's 11th-ranked defense (104.6 points allowed per 100 possessions), have won just six of their 20 games and have the NBA's 29th-ranked defense (110.7 points allowed per 100 possessions).
28. Phoenix Suns (22-44) -
The Suns' season is all but over, but that doesn't mean they're throwing in the towel just yet. Since March 1, Phoenix is 4-2, has the 12th-ranked offense in the NBA (107.8 points per 100 possessions) and has wins over the Hornets, Thunder, Celtics and most recently, the Mavericks, which came on a buzzer-beating game-winner from second-year guard Devin Booker.
29. Los Angeles Lakers (20-45) -
The Lakers' 2016-17 season has been over since Christmas. But what about the future? Can the new front office — which features Hall of Famer Magic Johnson and agent-turned-general manager Rob Pelinka — change the direction in Laker Land, re-routing the franchise that has an 85-226 record over the past four seasons?
"We have some really, really strong, young talent on this team," Pelinka told reporters at his introductory press conference on Friday. "But in terms of accountability, we're 29th out of 30 teams, and that's not acceptable. We have to get better talent for Luke (Walton) to coach. ... We have to add to that core, too. Our timeline is to be aggressive and to grow with quality players."
30. Brooklyn Nets (11-53) -
The Nets haven't had much to write home about this season, but they walked out of FedEx Forum on Monday night with their heads held high. Led by point guard Jeremy Lin, who has missed the majority of the season with hamstring issues, the Nets rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Grizzlies, 122-109. Lin finished with 18 points — tied for his most since the second game of the season — and had 11 points in the fourth quarter.
List of voters: USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt, Sam Amick, Kevin Spain, AJ Neuharth-Keusch and Michael Singer; The Arizona Republic's Doug Haller; The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal's Ronald Tillery; Detroit Free Press' Vince Ellis; Indianapolis Star's Nate Taylor; The (Bergen) Record's Steve Popper; HoopsHype.com's Jorge Sierra and Raul Barrigon; USA TODAY Sports Weekly's Howard Megdal.