NBA Power Rankings: Bucks Take Celtics’ Top Spot After All-Star Break

Milwaukee moved past Boston for the No. 1 position. Plus, the Mavericks and Heat slide.

The first- and last-place teams in this week’s power rankings put together the longest winning and losing streaks of the season.

The Bucks made it 15 in a row with a pair of wins over the weekend that allowed them to overtake the Celtics for the best record in basketball and another W in Brooklyn on Tuesday. Further down the standings, the Spurs had lost their last 16, a franchise record, before Tuesday’s victory in Utah.

In between the title contenders and lottery-bound teams is a tight race for playoff position. The Knicks and Suns have done well for themselves lately and Phoenix has the debut of Kevin Durant to look forward to, while the Timberwolves and Nets are trending in the wrong direction.

See how every team in The Association stacks up after the All-Star break with roughly a quarter of the regular season remaining.

Holiday has filled in nicely in the absence of Antetokounmpo :: Jeffrey Phelps/AP

1. Milwaukee Bucks

Record: 44–17
Previous ranking: 2

Nothing can stop the Bucks right now, with or without Giannis Antetokounmpo. They carried a 12-game winning streak into Friday’s game against the Heat when Antetokounmpo left after six minutes with a knee injury. Milwaukee won, anyway, by 29 points nonetheless, against a team that had already beat it twice this year when it was without its two-time MVP. With Antetokounmpo still out over the weekend, Jrue Holiday tallied 33 points in a tight win against the Suns to keep the streak alive.

2. Boston Celtics

Record: 44–18
Previous ranking: 1

The Celtics survived back-to-back close calls out of the All-Star break, and then their good fortune ran out at Madison Square Garden. Boston beat Indiana by four on the road in an overtime shootout behind a combined 61 points from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. It was Brown who led the way in a three-point win in Philadelphia, but Tatum’s go-ahead three-pointer was the decisive shot in a wild finish as Joel Embiid’s last-second heave was waved off. In New York, with no Brown (personal) and Tatum tossed in the fourth, the C’s fell by 15, their largest loss in more than a month.

3. Denver Nuggets

Record: 44–19
Previous ranking: 4

The Nuggets split their two-game road trip after the All-Star break in Cleveland and Memphis without Aaron Gordon (rib). Denver authored a fourth-quarter comeback to get past the Cavaliers but then its offense was stifled by the Grizzlies in an 18-point defeat. MVP favorite Nikola Jokić finished with just 15 points, and the team was held to a season-low 94. Back in the Mile High City, the Nuggets turned things around with a 10-point overtime win against the Clippers on Sunday behind a 40-point triple double from Jokić.

4. Philadelphia 76ers

Record: 39–21
Previous ranking: 3

It was known that the 76ers had a trying schedule down the homestretch of the season. They passed their first test at home against the Grizzlies on Thursday thanks to a fourth-quarter comeback, but then came up short against the Celtics and Heat by a combined five points. Embiid finished with 41 against Boston and scored 27 vs. Miami, but Tatum and Jimmy Butler each drained clutch shots in the waning seconds to sink Philadelphia, which now hits the road for a five-game trip that begins in Miami and includes a stop in Milwaukee.

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5. Cleveland Cavaliers

Record: 39–25
Previous ranking: 5

Cleveland got out of a rut Sunday with a dominant win against Toronto after it had dropped three straight. The Cavaliers blew a fourth-quarter lead at home to the Nuggets on Thursday despite 31 points out of Evan Mobley. They lost again the next night in Atlanta by 17. Darius Garland finished with 33 points, while Donovan Mitchell managed only 19 on poor shooting. Mitchell bounced back with 35 points against the Raptors, and Cleveland’s defense held Toronto to just 93 points after it let up a season-high 136 to Atlanta.

6. Sacramento Kings

Record: 36–25
Previous ranking: 6

The Kings came out of the All-Star break firing with three straight wins and a blistering offensive rating north of 130.4 over that run. That figure is, of course, juiced by their historic 176–175 double-overtime road win against the Clippers. Malik Monk went for 45 off the bench, and De’Aaron Fox added 42 in that contest, which came on the second night of a back-to-back after a win in Portland. Sacramento kept it going Sunday in Oklahoma City with another victory, which helped put some much-needed distance between itself and Phoenix.

7. Memphis Grizzlies

Record: 37–23
Previous ranking: 7

The Grizzlies were unable to close out the 76ers on the road in a back-and-forth battle Thursday, but they rebounded over the weekend with a dominant win against the Nuggets. Ja Morant struggled from the floor against Philadelphia, and he bounced back with 23 points to get past Denver at home. The Memphis defense largely kept Jokić in check and after a rocky few weeks the No. 2 seed in the West seems to have stabilized.

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8. New York Knicks

Record: 36–27
Previous ranking: 10

Monday’s win against the Celtics was the sixth straight for the Knicks overall and their second in a row over Boston. New York picked up where it left off heading into the break with three quick victories. Julius Randle racked up 46 points in a win in Washington, 28 back at Madison Square Garden to beat the Pelicans and a game-high 23 against Boston. Mitchell Robinson returned to the lineup after a monthlong absence and quickly put together a trio of double doubles. Next up is the fourth and final game of the year against Brooklyn at home Wednesday.

9. Phoenix Suns

Record: 33–29
Previous ranking: 13

Kevin Durant is expected to make his debut with the Suns on Wednesday against the Hornets. Phoenix is 3–3 since dealing Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder to acquire the superstar after it split its games over the weekend. The Suns beat the Thunder at home and dropped a tight game on the road against the Bucks, who were without Antetokounmpo. If Durant indeed suits up in Charlotte, he will have 20 games to get accustomed to his new team before the postseason begins.

10. Los Angeles Clippers

Record: 33–31
Previous ranking: 11

Los Angeles pushed Sacramento and Denver to the brink over the weekend and came up just short in both contests. Of course, winning one or both games against fellow Western Conference contenders would have been helpful, especially with a few teams on the Clippers’ heels in the standings, but the fact that Kawhi Leonard played 46 minutes against the Kings and then 39 against the Nuggets two days apart is very encouraging for their playoff hopes. And he scored 77 combined points across the two games. L.A. has a big week ahead with games against Golden State, Minnesota, Sacramento and Memphis.

11. Miami Heat

Record: 33–29
Previous ranking: 8

Butler helped put an end to Miami’s four-game skid with a clutch bucket down the stretch against Philadelphia, his former team. Before that, the Heat had matched a season-long losing streak, and the last two stood out as tough losses as they push for a top-six seed in the East. They got blown out by the Bucks even though Antetokounmpo left early with an injury and then lost to the Hornets as well. Kevin Love made his debut with the team against Milwaukee and finished with a double double in the Charlotte game.

12. Dallas Mavericks

Record: 32–31
Previous ranking: 9

It’s still very early, but the marriage of Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving has not gone swimmingly so far. The Mavericks are 1–4 when their All-Star duo shares the court and that one win was against the Spurs, who are in the midst of a free fall. They blew a 27-point lead Sunday against the Lakers, the largest advantage any team has yielded all year. Dallas’s two ball-dominant stars are still learning to share the court with each other, but there are just 20 games remaining in the regular season for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.

13. Atlanta Hawks

Record: 31–31
Previous ranking: 16

After coach Nate McMillan was fired over the All-Star break, the Hawks put on offensive clinics in wins against the Cavaliers and Nets to get back up above .500. Trae Young tallied 34 to beat Cleveland, and he matched that output a few nights later vs. Brooklyn and capped it off with a game-winner. Interim coach Joe Prunty was at the helm for those two victories, though Atlanta hired former Jazz coach Quin Snyder over the weekend.

14. Golden State Warriors

Record: 32–30
Previous ranking: 17

The Warriors will not go away, and they are now within striking distance of earning home court advantage. With Steph Curry still sidelined, Klay Thompson exploded for 42 points to beat the Rockets and 32 in a comeback win over the Timberwolves. Not only is Curry out, but Andrew Wiggins (personal) and Draymond Green (knee) missed both games as well. Golden State is home for its next two games and has a prime opportunity to inch up further in the standings.

15. Brooklyn Nets

Record: 34–27
Previous ranking: 12

Things could have gone better for the Nets after their week off. They came out flat against the Bulls on Friday and got walloped by 44 points. A few nights later in Atlanta, they were in it until the bitter end before Young iced the game at the buzzer. Brooklyn, which is now 3–7 over its last 10, is still holding on to sixth place in the East, but the play-in teams are gaining ground as the season winds down.

Markkanen has led the Jazz back up to .500 with 20 games to play :: Rick Bowmer/AP

16. Utah Jazz

Record: 31–32
Previous ranking: 21

Lauri Markkanen lifted the Jazz to a one-point win in overtime against the Thunder on Thursday in a meeting between the co-favorites for Most Improved Player. He finished with 43 points, outdueling Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who totaled 39. Markkanen again led Utah in scoring with 27 in a win over the Spurs to get his team back to .500 for the first time in three weeks.

17. Oklahoma City Thunder

Record: 28–33
Previous ranking: 15

Oklahoma City entered the All-Star break just one game shy of .500, but it quickly lost three in a row on the other side of it, a hit to its outside playoff hopes. The Thunder fell by one on the road in overtime to the Jazz on Thursday. Then, without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they lost to the Suns and Kings over the weekend by an identical score: 124–114. Sharpshooter Isaiah Joe led the way in both games with 28 points, a career high, and 24.

18. Minnesota Timberwolves

Record: 32–32
Previous ranking: 14

The Timberwolves are trending in the wrong direction as they jockey for position in the tightly contested Western Conference. They lost at home against the Hornets and on the road vs. the Warriors due to a blown fourth-quarter lead. Minnesota has been without Karl-Anthony Towns for months, and Rudy Gobert also missed the loss to Golden State over the weekend. As such, it lost the rebounding battle handily. The California road trip continues in Los Angeles later this week.

19. Los Angeles Lakers

Record: 29–33
Previous ranking: 20

The new-look Lakers are playing winning basketball, but going forward they might have to try to keep that up without LeBron James. He injured his foot in Sunday’s 27-point comeback win against the Mavericks and missed Tuesday’s game. There’s reportedly fear he could miss even more time with L.A. fighting tooth and nail just to get to the play-in. Trade-deadline acquisition Jarred Vanderbilt tallied 15 points and 17 rebounds in the win over Dallas, and Malik Beasley, also acquired via trade, led the team with 25 points and seven threes in a win against the Warriors.

20. Portland Trail Blazers

Record: 29–32
Previous ranking: 22

Damian Lillard missed Portland’s first game out of the All-Star break due to a delayed flight, but he used the extra rest to gear up for an all-time outing. Coming off a three-point-contest victory, Lillard scored a career-high 71 points on 13 made threes, also a career high, against Houston. That was enough for The Trail Blazers to beat the Rockets by 17 at home a few days after they lost to the Kings by 17 on the road without Lillard or Jerami Grant.

21. Toronto Raptors

Record: 31–32
Previous ranking: 23

A blowout loss to the Cavaliers on Sunday put an end to a season-high, four-game winning streak for the Raptors. They eked out a win in Detroit the night before behind 29 points from Pascal Siakam and beat the Pelicans at home Thursday. Toronto is 4–2 since its trade for Jakob Poeltl, who has already had some impressive rebounding totals, including 18 boards against New Orleans. The week ahead is an important one for the Raptors, who have a game against Chicago and two against the Wizards, both of whom are right behind them in the playoff race.

22. New Orleans Pelicans

Record: 30–32
Previous ranking: 18

The Pelicans have been unable to stop their second-half slide as they added three more losses to their tally out of the All-Star break to make it four in a row. Brandon Ingram scored 36 in a loss in Toronto and a team-high 19 in a losing effort against New York. Back home at Smoothie King Center on Monday, the Magic got the best of New Orleans, which is now two games under .500 for the first time all season.

23. Washington Wizards

Record: 29–32
Previous ranking: 19

The Wizards fell to the Knicks on Friday at Capital One Arena, and then they got embarrassed on the road in Chicago. Washington put up a fight against New York and then managed a season-low 82 points with Kristaps Porziņģis (knee) out for the Bulls game. That loss allowed Chicago to move to within a half game of the Wizards, which have a loose grip on the final play-in spot in the East and a difficult schedule ahead this week.

24. Chicago Bulls

Record: 28–34
Previous ranking: 24

The week off did the Bulls well as they turned a six-game skid into back-to-back blowout wins. They decimated the Nets, 131–87, in a game they led by as much as 50 as Zach LaVine finished with 32 points. Chicago then turned around and knocked off the Wizards, 102–82, a big win as the two teams fight for playoff position.

25. Orlando Magic

Record: 26–36
Previous ranking: 25

The Magic continue to quietly inch closer to play-in range with a 6–4 mark over their last 10. Wendell Carter Jr. tipped in the game-winner against the Pistons at home Thursday and Rookie of the Year favorite Paolo Banchero tallied 29 points in a win in New Orleans on Monday. Wedged in between those games was a 13-point loss over the weekend to the Pacers.

26. Indiana Pacers

Record: 28–35
Previous ranking: 26

An appearance in the play-in tournament could be in order for the Pacers, who are just two games back from the final spot. Even when Tyrese Haliburton returned to the lineup early on in February losses kept piling up, but Indiana has one of the easier schedules remaining in the league. And it sure looked the part of a top-10 seed in the East during a tight overtime loss to Boston on Thursday. Myles Turner went for 40 in that game and followed that up with a game-high 24 in a road win against Orlando over the weekend.

27. Charlotte Hornets

Record: 20–43
Previous ranking: 28

LaMelo Ball suffered a season-ending fractured ankle Monday as his Hornets stretched their win streak to a season-long five games. It’s been a surprising late-season surge for Charlotte, which still firmly has the fourth-worst record in the league. Ball led the team with 32 points in a road win against the Timberwolves on Friday. The Hornets then beat the Heat over the weekend and got past the Pistons in the game in which Ball was injured. Rookie Mark Williams excelled against Miami and set new career highs with 18 points and 20 boards.

28. Detroit Pistons

Record: 15–47
Previous ranking: 27

Up against some fellow lottery-bound teams this weekend, the Pistons extended their losing streak to five games. Detroit fell on the road to Orlando and Charlotte, though James Wiseman went for 23 against the Hornets. Somewhat surprisingly, the Pistons gave the Raptors a tough fight as they lost by four at home, despite 21 points and 18 rebounds from Marvin Bagley III off the bench.

29. Houston Rockets

Record: 13–48
Previous ranking: 29

The Rockets extended their losing streak to nine when they fell victim to Lillard’s 71-point outburst Sunday. To put things in perspective, their leading scorer finished with 17 in the loss. Houston has the worst record in the league, but it has a back-to-back this coming weekend with San Antonio, which it trails by a half game in the standings.

30. San Antonio Spurs

Record: 15–47
Previous ranking: 30

Here are some facts about the Spurs: They are 3–23 in 2023 and just came out of a franchise-record 16-game losing streak with Tuesday’s win over the Jazz. They have the worst defensive rating and net rating in the league and will surely have a 14% shot at presumptive No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama when the draft lottery comes around.