Power Rankings, Week 22: Sizzling Thunder head back to No. 1

Record: 53-15

OffRtg: 116.9 (7) DefRtg: 106.3 (1) NetRtg: +10.7 (1) Pace: 100.4 (15)

The Thunder are looking like the best team in the league again. They’re a league-best 11-1 since the All-Star break, with six of those 11 wins having come within the top 10.

Three takeaways

• Jalen Williams remains out, but the Thunder got healthier last week, with Alex Caruso, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein all returning from short absences. Ajay Mitchell came back from a 20-game absence last Monday, and he was in the starting lineup for each of the last two games, having started just nine of his previous 44. Among the team’s two-man combinations that have played at least 200 minutes together, the combo of Mitchell and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has the best on-court mark on offense, with Oklahoma City having scored 123.3 points per 100 possessions in its 604 minutes.

• Aside from their win over the Nuggets last Monday (129 points on 100 possessions), the Thunder’s offense has been pretty average over the last month. But they’ve allowed just 106 points per 100 (second) since the All-Star break, even though six of their 12 post-break games have come against top-10 offenses. Their last four opponents have combined to shoot just 51.3% in the paint, and the Wolves had 25 turnovers (16 of them live balls) on Sunday afternoon.

• Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t been the most efficient scorer in the clutch this season, but he leads the league with 153 points scored with the score within five points in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime, and he’s certainly had some clutch highlights of late. He made four huge step-back 3s over the span of three games, culminating with his game-winner against the Nuggets last Monday. Then he hit two pull-up 2-pointers for the lead in the final 65 seconds against Boston on Thursday, before Chet Holmgren gave the Thunder their final lead at the free-throw line. Over his career (and including postseason), Gilgeous-Alexander has shot 245-for-504 (48.6%) on clutch shots, easily the best mark among guards who’ve attempted at least 250 in the 30 years for which we have clutch data.

Coming up: The Thunder’s game in Orlando on Tuesday starts their longest road trip of the season (five games over nine days) and begins a stretch of eight straight against the Eastern Conference. At plus-10.41 points per game, they’re currently a hair behind last season’s Thunder (plus-10.43) for the second-best road point differential in NBA history.

Week 22: @ ORL, @ BKN, @ WAS

Record: 49-18

OffRtg: 117.7 (4) DefRtg: 110.5 (3) NetRtg: +7.2 (4) Pace: 100.9 (12)

Victor Wembanyama missed a game for the first time since early January and the Spurs blew a 20-point lead to the Nuggets. But they’ve won 17 of the last 18 games that Wembanyama has played in, with the last five having come against the Pistons, Clippers, Rockets, Celtics and Hornets.

Three takeaways

• The Spurs have outscored their opponents by an amazing 23.6 points per 100 possessions in Wembanyama’s 540 minutes on the floor over those 18 games. That’s the best on-court mark among 339 players who’ve played in at least 10 games since Feb. 1. And 13 of those 18 games he’s played in have come against teams currently at or above .500.

• The Celtics dared the Spurs to shoot 3-pointers, and they did, registering their highest 3-point rate (55% of their shots) of the season on Tuesday. They shot 20-for-46 (43%) from deep, but also outscored the Celtics at the free throw line, with Wembanyama going 8-for-15 from beyond the arc and 9-for-12 from the stripe. Stephon Castle (who had a 30-point triple-double in the loss to Denver) still isn’t shooting a lot of 3-pointers, but he’s 18-for-45 (40%) from beyond the arc since the All-Star break, up from 29% prior.

• The Spurs have been at their best (plus-12.3 points per 100 possessions) in the first quarter and have led by double-digits in 13 (72%) of their 18 losses. That would be, by far, the highest rate for any team in the 30 seasons of play-by-play data, with only one other team in that time (the 2019-20 Heat, 55%) having had double-digit leads in at least half of the games it lost.

Coming up: The Spurs will play eight of their next 11 games on the road, with a potential first-round preview at the Intuit Dome on Monday. They came back from 25 points down to win their first meeting with the Clippers 10 days ago.

Week 22: @ LAC, @ SAC, vs. PHX, vs. IND

Record: 44-23

OffRtg: 119.6 (2) DefRtg: 111.7 (5) NetRtg: +7.9 (2) Pace: 95.4 (30)

The Celtics came up short in their games in San Antonio and Oklahoma City last week, the first time in two months that they’ve lost two straight. But they’re still in second place in the East and Jayson Tatum played 32 minutes in their win over the Wizards on Saturday.

Three takeaways

• With their losses to the Spurs and Thunder last week, the Celtics are 8-12 (tied for second-worst) in games played between the top 10 teams in the league. That includes a 3-8 mark since mid-December, with Boston having scored just 110 points per 100 possessions over those 11 games. It didn’t help that Jaylen Brown was ejected in the first half of the San Antonio game or that Tatum and Derrick White missed the game in Oklahoma City, which the Celtics lost in the final second.

• But those weren’t the only times in the last couple of weeks that the Celtics have played below their standard offensively. They’ve scored just 115.8 points per 100 possessions over their last six games and just 113.8 per 100 in Tatum’s 113 minutes on the floor. He’s shot just 11-for-40 (28%) from 3-point range, has taken only 31% of his shots (the lowest rate of his career) in the paint, and has just nine total free throw attempts in those 113 minutes.

• The Celtics remain in the top five on both ends of the floor for what would be the fourth straight season. No team in the 49 seasons in which turnovers have been counted had done it in three straight seasons before last year. Of the 46 teams that have ranked in the top five on both ends over the previous 48 years, 31 (67%) reached the conference finals, with 17 of those making it to the Finals.

Coming up: With the Knicks having an easier remaining schedule, the Celtics still have some work to do to sew up the 2 seed in the East. But they’ll play their next five games against the West, now 15-9 (6-4 at home) against the opposite conference.

Week 22: vs. PHX, vs. GSW, @ MEM, vs. MIN

Record: 48-19

OffRtg: 116.8 (9) DefRtg: 109.1 (2) NetRtg: +7.7 (3) Pace: 100.0 (19)

The Pistons put an end to their four-game losing streak last week and took care of business against the Nets, the shorthanded Sixers and the Grizzlies. But they got clobbered on the glass in a loss in Toronto on Sunday and still have some work to do to sew up the top seed in the East.

Three takeaways

• Two weeks ago, the Pistons had the best record (23-9) in games played between the 17 teams that are currently above .500. But that’s no longer the case, as they’ve lost four of their last five within the group, with the only win coming against the Sixers (who were without Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid) on Thursday. They’ve allowed 123.8 points per 100 possessions over the four losses to Cleveland, San Antonio, Miami and Toronto.

• Ausar Thompson returned from a five-game absence on Sunday, but shot just 2-for-8 from the field and 0-for-2 from the line in the Pistons loss in Toronto. He’s their best perimeter defender and will be assigned to guys like Jaylen Brown, Jalen Brunson or Jalen Johnson in the playoffs, but offense will be an issue. Thompson has made 16 shots from outside the paint all season and the Detroit offense was pretty efficient (124.5 points scored per 100 possessions) over that five-game absence. The numbers (on both offense and defense) in 128 total minutes with the other four starters on the floor without Thompson (123.0 scored, 110.7 allowed per 100) are about the same as they are in the 510 minutes that the full lineup has played.

• The Pistons rank second in offensive rebounding percentage, but they’re just 19th in defensive rebounding percentage (68.8%), having seen the league’s seventh biggest drop from last season (71.4%, 11th). They’ve allowed at least 18 second-chance points in six of their last seven games, with the Raptors’ 31 on Sunday being their high for the season.

Coming up: The Pistons have six games remaining against teams currently below .500, and three of those are this week. First is a two-game trip to Washington, with the Wizards having won the last meeting (Feb. 5), one of their best offensive games of the season.

Week 22: @ WAS, @ WAS, vs. GSW

Record: 44-25

OffRtg: 118.2 (3) DefRtg: 111.9 (6) NetRtg: +6.3 (5) Pace: 98.5 (23)

The Knicks had a pair of close calls over the weekend, but they’re 3-0 in their stretch of seven straight games against teams with losing records. They still have a shot to catch the Celtics for second place in the East.

Three takeaways

• The Knicks led the Pacers by just two points with less than three minutes left on Friday, finally pulling away with a couple of clutch stops. Two nights later, they trailed the shorthanded Warriors by as many as 21 before escaping with a three-point win. The Knicks are now 17-12 in games that were within five points in the last five minutes and are one of two teams – the Thunder are the other – that rank in the top five in both clutch offense and clutch defense.

• Though the two weekend wins were narrow escapes over below-.500 teams, the Knicks are 44-25 with the point differential of a team that’s 49-20. That point differential of plus-6.2 per game would be the fourth-best mark in franchise history, trailing only the marks of three teams – 1969-70 (plus-9.1), 1993-94 (plus-7.0) and 1972-73 (plus-6.8) – that reached the Finals.

• Karl-Anthony Towns missed the game in Indiana on Friday, but Mitchell Robinson got the start, played a season-high 31 minutes and grabbed 22 rebounds (nine of them on the offensive glass). Robinson’s offensive rebounding percentage (20.8%) has dropped a bit in the last couple of months, but it’s still the highest for any player who’s averaged at least 15 minutes in the 30 seasons of play-by-play data. We haven’t seen as much of Robinson and Towns on the floor together since the All-Star break (31 total minutes over 14 total Knicks games) as we did prior (213 over 55).

Coming up: The Knicks have four games left on this super soft stretch of schedule, though the Pacers (who they’ll play again on Tuesday) have proven to be a thorn in their side (again). The Knicks have won their last 13 games against the Nets and their last 11 against the Wizards, set to face both this coming weekend.

Week 22: vs. IND, @ BKN, vs. WAS

Record: 42-25

OffRtg: 116.9 (8) DefRtg: 115.9 (20) NetRtg: +1.1 (15) Pace: 99.4 (20)

The Lakers are playing their best basketball of the season and have won eight of their last nine games. They are alone in third place in the Western Conference.

Three takeaways

• Nine days ago, the Lakers had lost 12 of their last 13 games against the top 10 teams in the league. But they’ve now won three straight, holding the Knicks, Wolves and Nuggets (offenses that rank third, 12th and first, respectively) to just 107.5 points per 100 possessions over those three games. That has them, finally, out of the bottom 10 on defense for the season.

• Luka Dončić leads the league in usage rate (36.4%), and it’s been higher (38.5%) as he’s averaged 38.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 8.4 assists over the Lakers’ five-game winning streak. He’s shot 41.4% from 3-point range over his last 27 games, up from just 31.6% through his first 28, though he went inside the arc for the overtime game-winner against the Nuggets on Saturday. That was just his first field goal attempt to tie or take the lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime this season.

• The context with the Lakers’ improvement over the last few weeks is that they’ve played 15 of their last 18 games at home, and they’ll now embark on a six-game road trip. They don’t have nearly as big a home-road differential as they did last season (the biggest in the league), but they are just 7-10 on the road since mid-December.

Coming up: The trip begins with two huge games in Houston, with the Lakers having been clobbered by the Rockets in the first meeting (on Christmas). Then it’s on to Miami, where LeBron James is just 6-17 (2-4 with the Lakers) as a visitor.

Week 22: @ HOU, @ HOU, @ MIA, @ ORL

Record: 41-27

OffRtg: 120.3 (1) DefRtg: 116.2 (21) NetRtg: +4.1 (8) Pace: 99.2 (21)

The Nuggets went 3-3 in their six straight games against the top 10 in the league. That’s not bad, but also not good enough to remain in the top four in the West.

Three takeaways

• The Nuggets blew a double-digit lead in Oklahoma City last Monday and came back from a double-digit deficit in L.A. over the weekend. Both games went down to the wire, and they were beaten on step-back game-winners by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Dončić, falling to 17-18 in games that were within five points in the last five minutes. The Nuggets have the league’s 29th-ranked clutch defense (124.7 points allowed per 100 possessions, but Nikola Jokić is also just 3-for-13 (tied with Paolo Banchero for the most misses) on shots to tie or take the lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime this season. His third make was a tough runner off the glass with 15 seconds left in overtime on Saturday, but was immediately followed by Dončić’s game-winner (where Spencer Jones couldn’t direct him toward the double-team).

• The Thunder were without Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso on Monday, and the Spurs were without Victor Wembanyama on Thursday. But it’s still rather remarkable that the Nuggets scored 128.2 points per 100 possessions as they played three straight games last week against teams (Houston was the other) that rank in the top eight defensively. For the season, they’ve scored 5.8 more points per 100 than the league average, which would be Denver’s best mark in the 30 seasons for which we have play-by-play data.

• Though they’ve played in only 14 games together, the Nuggets’ starting lineup has eclipsed the 200-minute mark. It’s outscored opponents by 16.3 points per 100 possessions, the third-best mark among the 15 lineups that have played at least 200 minutes, though Cam Johnson’s value in that lineup (as a starter in the playoffs or down the stretch of close games) seems like it will be an open question going forward.

Coming up: They ended the Spurs’ nine-game home win streak, and the Nuggets are one of only four teams with a better record on the road (23-14) than they have at home (18-13). They’ll play 10 of their final 14 games at Ball Arena, though they have a tough back-to-back (travel-wise) this week, hosting the Sixers on Tuesday and then visiting the Grizzlies (thanks to a schedule change) the following night.

Week 22: vs. PHI, @ MEM, vs. TOR, vs. POR

Record: 41-25

OffRtg: 116.4 (10) DefRtg: 112.2 (8) NetRtg: +4.2 (6) Pace: 96.8 (29)

The Rockets are holding onto fourth place in the West, having alternated wins and losses for their last nine games, a stretch that includes their two biggest losses of the season (at San Antonio and Denver).

Three takeaways

• The much bigger difference between the wins and losses over this nine-game stretch has been on defense, where the Rockets allowed the Nuggets to score 76 points on 50 second-half possessions (1.52 per) in their 36-point loss on Wednesday. That was a rest-disadvantage game and the Rockets are now 5-6 in the second games of back-to-backs, with three remaining on their schedule.

• Overall, the Rockets haven’t been quite as good defensively as they were last season. Their opponents’ effective field goal percentage is almost the same, but they’ve seen slippage in regard to the possession game, with the league’s sixth biggest drop in opponent turnover rate and its 10th biggest drop in defensive rebounding percentage.

• Amen Thompson has seen an uptick in offense recently, scoring 20 or more points in six of his last eight games. He also made a nice cut and kick-out on a huge Jabari Smith Jr. 3-pointer down the stretch against New Orleans on Friday. But Thompson himself is still just 23-for-103 (22.3%) from 3-point range, the second-worst mark among 271 players with at least 100 attempts.

Coming up: The Rockets trail the third-place Lakers by half a game, and they’ll now meet for two huge games in Houston on Monday and Wednesday. The first meeting was in L.A. on Christmas, when Thompson scored a game-high 26 points in a 23-point win.

Week 22: vs. LAL, vs. LAL, vs. ATL, vs. MIA

Record: 41-27

OffRtg: 117.7 (5) DefRtg: 113.4 (14) NetRtg: +4.2 (7) Pace: 100.8 (13)

The Cavs have lost six of their last 11 games and are suddenly in danger of losing their spot in the top four in the East, now just a game in the loss column ahead of the fifth-place Magic, whom they lost to last week.

Three takeaways

• The good news is that Max Strus made his season debut on Sunday and scored 24 points in less than 23 minutes off the bench, shooting 6-for-7 from 3-point range. But the Cavs still aren’t whole, with Jarrett Allen now having missed the last five games and three guards – Sam Merrill, Jaylon Tyson and Craig Porter Jr. – also missing Sunday’s loss to Dallas. James Harden has been with the Cavs for 16 games and the Cavs have had all their core four guys – Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Allen – for only three of the 16.

• The defense has been better with both Mobley and Allen on the floor together (109.0 points allowed per 100 possessions) than it’s been with one on the floor without the other (113.5 allowed per 100). That latter number is still better than the league average, but the Cavs’ two losses last week were two of their six worst defensive games of the season. They can be beaten with weak-side 3-pointers, and the Magic and Mavs combined to shoot 15-for-25 from the corners over the two losses.

• Mobley has seen an uptick in scoring in Allen’s absence, and he tied his season high with 29 points (on 12-for-15 shooting) in the Cavs’ win in Dallas on Friday. But he still looks uncomfortable shooting from beyond the arc (where he will be left alone by opposing defenses) and is just 7-for-19 from the free throw line over the last three games, now at 61.3% (the lowest mark of his career) from the stripe for the season.

Coming up: The Cavs are the only team with a winning record that has multiple losses (they’re 3-2) against the bottom 10 in the league since the All-Star break. The first of those losses came in Milwaukee, where they’ll begin a three-game trip (three of their seven remaining games against the bottom 10) on Tuesday.

Week 22: @ MIL, @ CHI, @ NOP

Record: 41-27

OffRtg: 116.1 (12) DefRtg: 113.1 (11) NetRtg: +3.0 (11) Pace: 101.5 (9)

The Wolves got some temporary relief with a win at Golden State on Friday, but they’ve lost four of their last five games and are in danger of losing their spot in the top six in the West.

Three takeaways

• Unsurprisingly, the Nets, Mavs and Pacers are among the teams that have seen the biggest statistical drop-offs since the All-Star break. But the biggest belongs to the Wolves, who have been 9.0 points per 100 possessions worse since the break (minus-4.4, 20th) than they were prior (plus-4.6, seventh). The drop-off has been a little bit bigger on offense, where they rank 19th since the break.

• The defense hasn’t been very good either. On Wednesday, the Wolves allowed the Clippers to score 153 points on 103 possessions (148.5 per 100), one of the 25 most efficient games for any team in the 30 seasons for which we have play-by-play data. This is the first Monday since Dec. 8 that Minnesota has ranked outside the top 10 defensively..

• The Wolves themselves shot well (from the field and from the line) in their win over the Warriors on Friday. But turnovers (or the lack thereof on the other end of the floor) were a major issue over their four-game road trip. They committed 41 more than their opponents over the four games and, with some rebounding issues as well, the Wolves have lost the possession game in 10 of their last 12.

Coming up: The Wolves lead the seventh-place Suns by just one game in the loss column and are 0-2 in the season series, having lost the two games by a total of four points. The third and final meeting is Tuesday, the start of a stretch in which the Wolves play five of six games at home.

Week 22: vs. PHX, vs. UTA, vs. POR, @ BOS

Record: 38-28

OffRtg: 114.4 (14) DefRtg: 112.9 (10) NetRtg: +1.5 (13) Pace: 100.2 (17)

Before March, the Magic hadn’t won more than three straight games. But they’ve now won seven straight, with wins over the Wolves, Cavs and Heat included. That has them 10 games over .500 (for the first time) and in fifth place in the East, only a game in the loss column behind the fourth-place Cavs.

Three takeaways

• The Magic have had the league’s third-ranked offense (122.4 points scored per 100 possessions) over the winning streak, even though they’ve shot right at the league average (35.8%) from 3-point range. Their top four scorers during the streak – Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane, Jalen Suggs and Tristan da Silva – have combined to shoot 65% in the paint and 21-for-39 (54%) from mid-range over the seven games.

• Though Bane’s 3-point percentage (38.7%) is down from his first five seasons (41%), he has a true shooting percentage of 60.9%, the highest mark of his career and 15th among 38 players who’ve averaged at least 20 points in 40 games or more. He’s taken more than 50% of his shots in the paint for the first time in his career, also registering a career-high free-throw rate of 27.4 attempts per 100 shots from the field. His field goal percentage in the paint isn’t the highest mark of his career, but he’s had some deft finishes among his highlights.

• The Magic needed overtime to beat the Wizards on Thursday, but they’ve won their last four games that were within five points in the last five minutes, scoring 52 points on 40 clutch possessions (1.30 per) over that stretch. They have a losing record (15-17) in games that weren’t within five in the last five, but are 23-11 (third best) in the clutch.

Coming up: The Magic have two games left on a stretch of five in seven days, and they’ll be at a rest disadvantage when they host the Thunder on Tuesday. Their visit to Oklahoma City last month was their biggest loss of the season (36 points).

Week 22: @ ATL, vs. OKC, @ CHA, vs. LAL

Record: 38-29

OffRtg: 113.9 (19) DefRtg: 112.1 (7) NetRtg: +1.8 (12) Pace: 99.1 (22)

A 2-6 stretch had taken the Raptors out of the top six in the East, but they’re back in sixth place after beating the Suns and Pistons over the weekend.

Three takeaways

• The Raptors finally beat one of the three best teams in the East. They scored just 105.7 points per 100 possessions as they lost their first eight games against the Pistons, Celtics and Knicks. But they broke out offensively (119 points on just 95 possessions) in their win over Detroit on Sunday. Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl (!) combined for 82 of the 119, with most of the damage coming inside the arc. Only the Pistons (14) and Rockets (12) have more wins than the Raptors (11-11 after going 8-for-28 from deep Sunday) when making fewer than 10 3-pointers.

• Scottie Barnes added 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, registering a plus-22 in what was an 11-point win. He also blocked three shots two nights after recording one of the best blocks of the season in the final minute against Phoenix. The Raptors lead the league in clutch defense (95.9 points allowed per 100 possessions) and Barnes leads the league with nine clutch blocks (two more than anybody else).

• The end of that 2-6 stretch was a rest-disadvantage loss in New Orleans on Wednesday. The Raptors have the league’s second-biggest differential between their record with rest (34-21) and their record in the second games of back-to-backs (4-8).

Coming up: With their win over Phoenix last week, the Raptors are 2-11 (1-4 on the road) against the top eight teams in the Western Conference, set to visit the Nuggets, Suns and Clippers on the five-game trip that begins in Chicago on Wednesday.

Week 22: @ CHI, @ DEN, @ PHX

Record: 39-28

OffRtg: 114.0 (18) DefRtg: 112.8 (9) NetRtg: +1.3 (14) Pace: 98.2 (25)

The Suns won four straight games and had a 10-point lead with a little more than eight minutes left in Toronto on Friday. But the streak came to an end, because (playing with a rest disadvantage) they couldn’t get the stops they needed over those final eight minutes.

Three takeaways

• The Suns scored 126.2 points per 100 possessions over the four-game winning streak, their best stretch of offense this season. Devin Booker and Jalen Green combined to average 60.5 points over the four games, with 79 in the Suns’ win in Indiana on Thursday. Royce O’Neale also shot 16-for-33 (48%) from 3-point range over the streak.

• Booker and Green totaled another 65 points in Toronto on Friday, but it was the Suns’ worst defensive game since the All-Star break. They allowed the Raptors’ worse-than-average offense to score 122 points on just 96 possessions, including 36 on 24 (1.5 per) in the fourth quarter. The Suns have still allowed the same amount of points per 100 possessions during Dillon Brooks’ 10-game absence (112.8, 11th) as they did before it.

• The Suns are just 1 1/2 games out of a top-six spot in the West, but they’ve got a tougher remaining schedule than any of the teams in front of them, with nine of their final 15 games coming against other teams that currently have winning records. They’re just 2-6 within that group since Feb. 1.

Coming up: The Suns still have three games left on their six-game trip, and their visit to Boston on Monday is the start of their second (and final) stretch of five games in seven days. They’ll be at a rest disadvantage the following night in Minnesota and against the Raptors (for the second time in 10 days) over the weekend.

Week 22: @ BOS, @ MIN, @ SAS, vs. MIL, vs. TOR

Record: 38-30

OffRtg: 114.8 (13) DefRtg: 111.3 (4) NetRtg: +3.5 (9) Pace: 104.7 (1)

Bam Adebayo scored 83 points against the Wizards as the Heat ran their win streak to seven games before losing to the Magic for the fifth time. That has them back in seventh place in the East.

Three takeaways

• Though his teammates were trying to get him the ball on every possession down the stretch, Adebayo’s usage rate against the Wizards was highest (63.6%) in the first quarter, when he scored 31 points on the Heat’s 27 possessions, shooting 5-for-8 on 2-pointers, 5-for-8 on 3s and 6-for-7 from the line. Though he set an NBA record with 43 free throw attempts on Tuesday, Adebayo’s season-long free throw rate (36.1 attempts per 100 shots from the field) is still the third lowest of his nine seasons. His 3-point rate (34% of his shots) is the highest of his career by a wide margin.

• Though they had a sub-par offensive game against the Magic (again), the Heat have scored 119.8 points per 100 possessions (fourth best) since the All-Star break, up from 113.7 per 100 (17th) before the break. That’s been the league’s biggest post-break jump on offense, and they just got Norman Powell back from a seven-game absence (he missed the entire winning streak) on Saturday.

• With their win over the Bucks on Thursday, the Heat were the ninth team to surpass their win total from last season. They rank as the league’s seventh-most improved team from last season (in terms of winning percentage) and its eighth -most improved (regarding point differential per 100 possessions — +3.1). Statistically, this has been their second-best regular season (plus-3.5 per 100) in the 12 years since LeBron James returned to Cleveland. When you take the league-average jump into account, the improvement has been about even on both ends of the floor.

Coming up: The Heat’s fourth-ranked defense will now face its toughest stretch of games since the first month of the season. Each of their next six is against teams that rank in the top 10 offensively.

Week 22: @ CHA, vs. LAL, @ HOU

Record: 34-33

OffRtg: 116.2 (11) DefRtg: 115.3 (19) NetRtg: +0.8 (17) Pace: 97.2 (28)

A four-game winning streak (including victories over the Knicks and Wolves) had the Clippers two games over .500 for the first time this season, but it ended with a surprising loss to the Kings on Saturday. To make matters worse, Kawhi Leonard (who had played in 22 of the previous 23 games) was lost to a sprained ankle early in the fourth quarter.

Three takeaways

• The Clippers have almost climbed into the top 10 on offense, having scored 126.3 points per 100 possessions over the 7-1 stretch that preceded the loss to Sacramento. Their 153 points on 103 possessions against the Wolves on Wednesday (with Leonard scoring 45 points on 15-for-20 shooting) is among top 25 most efficient games for any team in the 30 seasons for which we have play-by-play data.

• The loss to the Kings was the Clippers’ first (they were previously 5-0) with Darius Garland in uniform. They’ve outscored their opponents by 21.6 points per 100 possessions in 91 minutes with Garland and Leonard on the floor together and the point guard was a plus-17 on Saturday. Somehow, the Clippers were outscored by 26 points in his 17:50 on the bench.

• Leonard is listed as doubtful for the Clippers’ game against the Spurs on Monday, and his absence would put a heavier offensive burden on Bennedict Mathurin. The Clippers have outscored their opponents in Mathurin’s 253 minutes on the floor without Leonard, but the offense hasn’t been great (112.9 points scored per 100 possessions) in that time.

Coming up: After hosting the Spurs, the Clippers will play 11 of their final 14 games against teams with losing records, with eight of those 11 coming against the bottom 10 teams in the league. They had won 12 of their last 13 against the bottom 10 before the loss to the Kings on Saturday.

Week 22: vs. SAS, @ NOP, @ NOP, @ DAL

Record: 34-34

OffRtg: 117.4 (6) DefRtg: 114.2 (15) NetRtg: +3.3 (10) Pace: 97.9 (26)

The Hornets are back at .500, having gone 2-2 on a four-game trip. They took care of business against the Blazers and Kings, but came up short in Phoenix and San Antonio.

Three takeaways

• The Hornets got a huge win in Boston 12 days ago, holding the league’s second-ranked offense under a point per possession. But they’ve lost their last three games against teams with winning records, allowing 125.1 per 100 over those three losses. They’re a much-improved defensive team, yet rank 27th in opponent turnover rate and forced just 27 total in those losses to the Heat, Suns and Spurs.

• Turnovers have been an issue on offense as well, and the Hornets rank last in turnover differential for the season, having committed 2.9 per game more than their opponents.

• The Hornets’ win in Sacramento on Wednesday was just the third time this season that a team (the Hornets in this case) didn’t attempt a single mid-range shot. (The Kings attempted 19.) Kon Knueppel has been solid (49%) on pull-up 2-pointers, but the Hornets rank 29th in both mid-range field goal percentage (35.4%) and the percentage of their shots that have come from mid-range (6%).

Coming up: The Hornets are one of five teams with a homestand of at least seven games this season. Their (seven games over 13 days) begins Tuesday with a visit from the seventh-place Heat, who they trail by four games. They’ve allowed 126.8 points per 100 possessions as they’ve lost the first three meetings.

Week 22: vs. MIA, vs. ORL, vs. MEM

Record: 36-31

OffRtg: 114.2 (15) DefRtg: 113.2 (12) NetRtg: +1.0 (16) Pace: 102.8 (2)

The Hawks’ winning streak has reached nine games, taking them to five games over .500 and to within two games of a top-six spot in the East. But it’s come against an incredibly soft stretch of schedule. Things will get tougher going forward.

Three takeaways

• Seven of the nine wins have come against four of the bottom 10 teams in the league, and the other two have come against the below .500 Blazers (without Deni Avdija) and the Sixers without Joel Embiid. But that doesn’t mean that the Hawks aren’t playing better. They were just 9-6 against the bottom 10 teams in the league through January, but are 8-0 since Feb. 1, with the last seven of those wins having come by double-digits.

• The Hawks have dominated the possession game, averaging 10.2 more shot opportunities than their opponents during the winning streak. That includes 42 more shot opportunities than the Nets (+23) and Bucks (+19) on Thursday and Saturday. They were in the red on shot opportunities (0.2 fewer per game) through their first 58 games, but have seen huge jumps in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage, and have also forced more turnovers.

• Jalen Johnson recorded his 12th triple-double of the season on Saturday (the Hawks are 8-4 in those games) and is now averaging a hair more than eight assists per game (fifth in the league). If he can maintain his current numbers, he would be just the fifth different player in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, joining Nikola Jokić (five seasons, including this one), Russell Westbrook (four), Oscar Robertson (three) and Wilt Chamberlain (one).

Coming up: The Hawks’ schedule now gets a little tougher, but their game against Orlando on Monday also represents an opportunity. They trail the fifth-place Magic by just 2 1/2 games, with another head-to-head meeting coming in April. The Hawks won the first two meetings (both early in the season), though they’re just 8-9 within the 5-10 tier in the East overall

Week 22: vs. ORL, @ DAL, @ HOU, vs. GSW

Record: 37-31

OffRtg: 114.1 (17) DefRtg: 114.6 (17) NetRtg: -0.5 (19) Pace: 100.1 (18)

The Sixers are 3-2 during Tyrese Maxey’s absence, beating the Grizzlies, Nets and Blazers to stay a half game ahead of the streaking Hawks for eighth place in the East.

Three takeaways

• The Sixers have made no more than 11 3-pointers in each of their last eight games, even the one (Tuesday vs. Memphis) where Cam Payne made eight 3s by himself. Their 3-for-25 (12%) from beyond the arc against Brooklyn on Saturday was the worst 3-point shooting game for any team this season … and they won, outscoring Brooklyn by 20 points in the paint and by seven at the free throw line.

• Quentin Grimes has been the leading scorer (22.6 points per game) during Maxey’s absence. He’s been here before, having registered a usage rate of 26.1% over his 28 games with the Sixers at the end of last season. He was at 17.3% (seventh on the team) before last week, but had a rate of 25.2% over these last five games.

• It certainly helped that the Sixers have played some weaker offenses last week. Their weekend wins over Brooklyn and Portland were just the fourth and fifth times that their opponent has scored a point per possession or less.

Coming up: The Sixers just played five games in seven days, but they have just one day off before beginning a three-game trip in Denver on Tuesday. They’re playing nine of their final 14 games on the road.

Week 22: @ DEN, @ SAC, @ UTA

Record: 32-36

OffRtg: 112.4 (24) DefRtg: 114.9 (18) NetRtg: -2.6 (20) Pace: 102.0 (7)

Though the Warriors have lost five straight games, the Blazers (5-7 since the All-Star break) haven’t been able to catch them, and remain in 10th place in the West.

Three takeaways

• The Blazers have won their last seven games against teams with a worse record than them, scoring 122.1 points per 100 possessions over those seven games. Jrue Holiday, Donovan Clingan and Scoot Henderson all scored more than 20 points in their 10-point win over the Jazz on Friday. Henderson has made as many 3-pointers in the last four games (15-for-27, 56%) as he made in his 12 games before that (15-for-64, 23%).

• But the Blazers have lost their six games against teams with a better record than them, scoring just 102.1 points per 100 over those six games. They shot just 18-for-37 (49%) in the paint and committed three turnovers in the final minute of their two-point loss to the Hornets on Tuesday. And they were somehow even less efficient in a rest-advantage game in Philadelphia over the weekend.

• Deni Avdija has been back for four games and the Blazers’ current starting lineup – Jrue Holiday, Avdija, Toumani Camara, Jerami Grant and Donovan Clingan – should seemingly be pretty strong defensively. But it’s allowed 132.7 points per 100 possessions in its 93 minutes together. The Blazers got off to a brutal start (they trailed 33-15) in that game against the Jazz on Friday, but took the lead with a 20-0 run spanning the first and second quarters.

Coming up: Eight of the Blazers’ remaining 14 games are against those 10 teams that have worse records than they do. That includes two meetings with the Nets, whom they’ll visit on Monday, Game 2 of their five-game trip.

Week 22: @ BKN, @ IND, @ MIN, @ DEN

Record: 32-35

OffRtg: 114.2 (16) DefRtg: 113.4 (13) NetRtg: +0.8 (18) Pace: 100.2 (16)

Stephen Curry remains out and a five-game losing streak has taken the Warriors three games below .500 for the first time.

Three takeaways

• The five losses have come by a total of just 29 points. Four of the five were within five points in the last five minutes and the Warriors have scored just 47 points on 50 clutch possessions over that stretch, shooting just 3-for-20 on clutch 3-pointers. They didn’t get to attempt one in the closing seconds of their three-point loss in New York on Sunday, because Quinten Post fumbled a pass from Gui Santos.

• Warriors coach Steve Kerr seemed to yell, “The ball is everything!” at Will Richard after the rookie guard committed his second straight turnover late in the second quarter on Sunday. The loss to the Knicks ended a streak of four straight games where the Warriors had fewer turnovers than their opponent. Their turnover differential this season (0.5 fewer per game) is their second-best of the last six years, but down significantly from 1.7 fewer per game last season. Before Curry’s absence, the Warriors were 17-5 when they committed fewer turnovers than their opponent.

• The Warriors are still a half-game ahead of 10th-place Portland, but the Blazers have the easier remaining schedule and have done a better job of beating the teams below them in the standings. With their losses to the Jazz and Bulls last week, the Warriors account for three of the 11 times since the All-Star break that a team in a playoff or Play-In position has lost to a team in the bottom 10.

Coming up: The Warriors’ loss at Madison Square Garden on Sunday was the start of a six-game trip and their second (and final) stretch of five games in seven days. They’ll be at a rest disadvantage in Washington on Monday, the first of six remaining games against the bottom 10 teams in the league.

Week 22: @ WAS, @ BOS, @ DET, @ ATL

Record: 22-46

OffRtg: 113.2 (21) DefRtg: 117.5 (26) NetRtg: -4.3 (22) Pace: 101.2 (11)

The Pelicans are healthy and playing to win. They’re 7-5 since the All-Star break, with three spoiler wins – over the Sixers, Warriors and Raptors – included.

Two takeaways

• The Pelicans have scored 122.3 points per 100 possessions over their last five games, their best stretch of offense this season. Dejounte Murray missed one of those five games, but he’s averaged 24 points on 62% shooting (including 20-for-28 on 2-point shots outside the restricted area) over the other four. That includes 27 points in the Pels’ win over the Raptors on Wednesday and 35 (on 14-for-18 shooting) two nights later in Houston.

• The Pelicans are 4-3 with both Murray and Zion Williamson in the lineup and have outscored their opponents by 13.4 points per 100 possessions in their 165 minutes on the floor together. The numbers have been better on defense (101.7 allowed per 100) than offense, in part because the opponents have shot just 29% from 3-point range in those 165 minutes.

Coming up: The Pelicans have plenty more spoiler opportunities ahead. After hosting the Mavs on Monday, they’ll play their next seven games against teams with winning records. They’ve allowed 130.8 points per 100 possessions as they’ve lost their first two meetings with the Clippers, who will be in New Orleans for a two-game series this week.

Week 22: vs. DAL, vs. LAC, vs. LAC, vs CLE

Record: 27-40

OffRtg: 112.3 (25) DefRtg: 116.9 (23) NetRtg: -4.6 (23) Pace: 102.4 (4)

The Bulls played spoiler twice on their five-game trip out West, beating the Suns and Warriors, with Matas Buzelis scoring a career-high 41 points at Golden State on Tuesday.

Two takeaways

• Josh Giddey has four triple-doubles in his last six games, with 15 or more assists in two straight games last week. The Bulls have a lot of guards (even with Jaden Ivey and Anfernee Simons out), but since the All-Star break, they’ve scored 112.7 points per 100 possessions with Giddey on the floor and an anemic 97.1 per 100 with him off the floor.

• Giddey also had 11 turnovers over those two games in which he totaled 32 assists, and the Bulls have committed 27 more turnovers than their opponents over their last four games total. They have the league’s second-worst turnover differential (2.6 more per game than their opponents) and its third-biggest shot-opportunity discrepancy (4 fewer per game) for the season.

Coming up: The Bulls still have more road games (eight) than home games (seven) remaining, but they’ll begin a four-game homestand on Monday with their first of their two meetings with the Grizzlies. Chicago is just 7-13 (only the Pacers have been worse) in games played between the bottom 10 teams in the league.

Week 22: vs. MEM, vs. TOR, vs. CLE

Record: 28-39

OffRtg: 112.5 (23) DefRtg: 117.3 (25) NetRtg: -4.8 (25) Pace: 98.4 (24)

Barring a collapse from the 10th-place Hornets, the league’s second-longest active playoff streak (nine years) will end because the Bucks aren’t making any kind of postseason push. They’re 2-8 over their last 10 games, with the wins coming against the Jazz and Pacers.

Two takeaways

• The Bucks finally tried for some offensive rebounds on Sunday, turning 13 offensive boards (six from Giannis Antetokounmpo) into 16 second-chance points in their win over the Pacers. They totaled just 19 second-chance points over their previous three games and continue to rank last in offensive rebounding percentage (25.7%) for what would be the second straight season.

• Ryan Rollins doesn’t seem to have a permanent spot in the starting lineup, but he’s been pretty consistent offensively and has shot 65% (including 11-for-22 from 3-point range) over the last four games. On the other end of the floor, his 4.7 deflections per 36 minutes rank 12th among 236 players who’ve played at least 1,000 minutes.

Coming up: The Bucks have lost their last seven games against teams currently with winning records, and their last win against that group came against the Cavs last month. Cleveland is back at Fiserv Forum on Tuesday, and the Bucks will then head West.

Week 22: vs. CLE, @ UTA, @ PHX

Record: 23-45

OffRtg: 109.8 (27) DefRtg: 114.5 (16) NetRtg: -4.7 (24) Pace: 102.3 (5)

The Mavs picked up a couple of road wins last week, going wire to wire in Memphis to end an eight-game losing streak and then stunning the Cavs with a big second half on Sunday afternoon.

Two takeaways

• Cooper Flagg’s first five games back from an eight-game absence were relatively quiet: 15.6 points per game on just 35% shooting. But he totaled 52 points on 18-for-33 (55%) from the field in the Mavs’ home-and-home set with the Cavs, adding 10 assists in the win in Cleveland on Sunday. He continues to be an interior scorer with 42 of those 52 points coming in the paint (28) or at the free throw line.

• The Mavs scored an anemic 101.7 points per 100 possessions over the eight-game losing streak, but got 35 points from Khris Middleton in the win in Memphis and had some small-ball success in Cleveland on Sunday. Daniel Gafford was out and their other healthy centers – Marvin Bagley and Dwight Powell – played just 18 total minutes. P.J. Washington started at the five and it was the Mavs’ best offensive game (130 points on 102 possessions) in nearly two months.

Coming up: The 12th-place Mavs are one game ahead of the Pelicans and will be at a rest disadvantage in New Orleans on Monday, the end of their stretch of four games in five days. They’re 5-7 (with four straight losses) in the second games of back-to-backs, having lost the last three by an average of 24 points.

Week 22: @ NOP, vs. ATL, vs. LAC

Record: 18-51

OffRtg: 109.9 (26) DefRtg: 119.4 (28) NetRtg: -9.4 (29) Pace: 100.5 (14)

The Kings were eliminated from Play-In contention with their loss to the Hornets on Wednesday. But they’ve won the four other games they’ve played in the last eight days, including playing spoiler vs. the Clippers on Friday.

Two takeaways

• The Kings have allowed just 108.8 points per 100 possessions over the 4-1 stretch, their best stretch of defense this season. Three of the wins came against teams – Chicago, Indiana and Utah – that rank in the bottom 10 offensively, but the Clippers’ 109 points on 102 possessions on Saturday were also their least efficient performance in March (nine games). With the Kings having allowed 4.9 more points per 100 possessions, this remains their worst defensive season in the last 13 years.

• DeMar DeRozan hasn’t been shooting much from beyond the arc, but he’s been on a 2-point heater over the last three games, shooting 20-for-22 (91%) in the paint and 18-for-30 (60%) from mid-range over that stretch. He’s now attempted 61 more mid-range shots than any other player and his mid-range field goal percentage is now at 48.0%, the highest mark of his career.

Coming up: The Kings have three games left on a stretch where they will have played nine of 10 at home, and their visit from the Sixers on Thursday will be the first of seven straight games against the Eastern Conference. They now have one more win than the Nets, with the two head-to-head meetings coming on the next two Sundays.

Week 22: vs. SAS, vs. PHI, vs. BKN

Record: 20-48

OffRtg: 113.2 (22) DefRtg: 120.6 (30) NetRtg: -7.4 (26) Pace: 102.7 (3)

The Jazz beat the Warriors last Monday and still rank as the league’s eighth most improved team regarding winning percentage. But they’ve since lost three straight games, with some unfamiliar faces in the rotation.

Two takeaways

• Lauri Markkanen has now missed the last 10 games, and Keyonte George has missed 12 of the last 19, leaving the Jazz’s loss to the Knicks on Wednesday with a hamstring strain. Those are the team’s two leading scorers by a healthy margin, but the offense hasn’t fallen off much (112.5 points scored per 100 possessions) in the 956 minutes that the Jazz have played with neither George nor Markkanen on the floor.

• Six of Utah’s eight March games have been within five points in the last five minutes, and (despite all their injuries) they’ve used 13 different guys in clutch time over that stretch. That includes Blake Hinson, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer against Golden State last week. Hinson is a little like Taylor Hendricks (who the Jazz traded to Memphis) in that he’s built like an old-school power forward, but has taken most of his shots (45/60) from beyond the arc. He’s made 21 (47%) of those 45 3-point attempts.

Coming up: The Jazz have four games remaining against other teams with losing records and the first will be a rest-disadvantage game against the Bucks on Thursday. Utah actually has a winning record (7-6) in the second games of back-to-backs thus far.

Week 22: @ MIN, vs. MIL, vs. PHI

Record: 17-50

OffRtg: 109.4 (29) DefRtg: 118.2 (27) NetRtg: -8.8 (28) Pace: 97.2 (27)

The Nets dropped to fourth in the upside-down standings last week, picking up a win over Memphis with an unusually efficient offensive performance. They also announced that Egor Dëmin (plantar fasciitis) and Day’Ron Sharpe (thumb sprain) are done for the season.

Two takeaways

• The Nets didn’t play Terance Mann or Michael Porter Jr. against the Grizzlies last Monday, but still came back from an early, double-digit deficit and scored more than 125 points per 100 possessions for just the seventh time this season. Sharpe was the leading scorer with 19 points, but that was his final game of the season. The Nets have been at their best (minus-4.3 points per 100 possessions) with him on the floor, and actually outscored their opponents by 3.9 points per 100 possessions in his 373 minutes alongside Porter. They have a (very reasonable) team option on Sharpe’s contract for next year.

• The Nets were well on their way to their league-leading 11th wire-to-wire loss on Saturday, but came back from 28 points down to take the lead in Philadelphia … only to miss some key free throws and allow the Sixers to score 16 points on 10 clutch possessions. Brooklyn has now lost 18 of its last 21 games that were within five points in the last five minutes and is 6-23 in clutch games overall. The 128.6 points per 100 clutch possessions that it has allowed would be the worst defensive mark in the 30 seasons for which we have clutch data.

Coming up: The Nets have just five games remaining against teams that currently have winning records, and two of the five are this week in Brooklyn. They’ve lost 13 straight games to the Knicks, with their three losses this season having come by an average of 34.3 points. That would be the second biggest single-season, head-to-head point differential in NBA history for teams in the same conference. The biggest – 35.3 per game, Detroit vs. Chicago in 1998-99 – is certainly within reach.

Week 22: vs. POR, vs. OKC, vs. NYK, @ SAC

Record: 23-43

OffRtg: 113.7 (20) DefRtg: 116.5 (22) NetRtg: -2.8 (21) Pace: 101.4 (10)

The Grizzlies went 0-4 in their stretch of four games in five days last week, with losses to the Nets and Mavs included. They’ve dropped seven straight overall, but remain in 11th place in the Western Conference.

Two takeaways

• The Grizzlies had a 14-point lead late in the third quarter in Philadelphia on Tuesday, only to allow the Sixers to score 56 points on their final 34 possessions (1.65 per). That gave Memphis 21 losses (it’s 16-21) in games it led by double-digits, five more than any other team this season and just one shy of the most for any team in the 30 seasons for which we have play-by-play data.

• Olivier-Maxence Prosper was on a two-way contract until 12 days ago, but is the only guy who’s played in all 13 of the Grizzlies’ games since the All-Star break and has been asked to start most of those at center. The Grizzlies have been absolutely clobbered on the glass (ranking last in rebounding percentage since the break), but Prosper has been solid offensively, one of only five players this season who’ve shot 60% or better on at least 100 2-point attempts and 39% or better on at least 100 3-point attempts. That’s up from 46.7% on 2s and 26.0% on 3s through his first two seasons.

Coming up: The Grizzlies have just four games remaining against other teams with losing records, and two of those four are against the Bulls. After visiting Chicago on Monday, they’ll play six straight games against teams that are currently at or above .500.

Week 22: @ CHI, vs. DEN, vs. BOS, @ CHA

Record: 16-50

OffRtg: 109.5 (28) DefRtg: 120.4 (29) NetRtg: -10.9 (30) Pace: 102.3 (6)

Less than a month ago, there were four teams with fewer wins than the Wizards (16). Now there’s only one, with Washington having lost its last 11 games.

Two takeaways

• The game in which Bam Adebayo scored 83 points was only the Wizards’ fifth-worst defensive game over this losing streak. But appropriately, it (temporarily) dropped them to 30th in defensive efficiency before the Jazz took back the crown the following night. Washington has allowed 124 points per 100 possessions over the streak, ranking last in opponent free throw rate (duh) and 29th in defensive rebounding percentage over the 11 games.

• Trae Young has played in four of the last five games, shot 56%, and averaged 11.4 assists per 36 minutes. But the Wizards have scored an anemic 102.8 points per 100 possessions in his 82 minutes on the floor.

Coming up: The Wizards had two stretches of five games in seven days on their schedule, and they haven’t gone through either of them yet. The first begins with a visit from the Warriors on Monday, and they’ll then play four straight against teams that are at least 19 games over .500. They’re 1-19 against the top 10 teams in the league, with the one win coming in Detroit.

Week 22: vs. GSW, vs. DET, vs. DET, vs. OKC, @ NYK

Record: 15-53

OffRtg: 108.8 (30) DefRtg: 117.3 (24) NetRtg: -8.5 (27) Pace: 101.8 (8)

The Pacers had double-digit leads in two of their four games last week, leading Sacramento by as many as 20 points in the third quarter on Tuesday. But they remain winless (0-13) since the All-Star break, with six of those 13 losses having come against other teams in the bottom 10 of the league.

Two takeaways

• Ivica Zubac made his Pacers debut last week and even played in both games of their Thursday-Friday back-to-back. The offense was almost average (114 points scored per 100 possessions), but the defense was brutal (127.1 allowed per 100) in Zubac’s 69 minutes on the floor over three games. Indiana ranks last defensively, by a healthy margin, since the All-Star break, and it’s played a lot more post-break games against teams in the bottom half of the league offensively (nine) than it’s played against teams in the top half (four).

• Zubac will eventually be an anchor on the interior, but the Pacers were outscored in the paint in his 69 minutes. For the season, they’ve been outscored by 9.6 points in the paint per game, which would be the worst differential for any team in the last seven seasons.

Coming up: Pascal Siakam has missed the last four games, so we’ve yet to see the Pacers’ new frontline together. Maybe that happens this week.

Week 22: @ NYK, vs. POR, @ SAS