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NBA Power Rankings, Feb. 13 Edition: At The Break, It’s The Thunder And The Pacers

By Phil Watson

Dec 8, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) handles the ball against Indiana Pacers small forward Paul George (24) during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 8, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) handles the ball against Indiana Pacers small forward Paul George (24) during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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There are just two games remaining to be played before the All-Star break arrives—the Bulls and Nets get together in Brooklyn and Oklahoma City goes to see the Lakers on Thursday.

Regardless, we know it’s Indiana and Oklahoma City that lead the pack as we get to the break.

The Pacers are 2½ games clear of Miami out East and about 1,200 miles ahead of everyone else. But, hey, at this pace all of the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference will be above .500 and everything.

The West is a bit more unsettled—Portland is 36-17 and is currently fifth in the confer4ence. Eighth-place Golden State, at 31-22, is 1½ games ahead of Memphis, while the Timberwolves have drifted six games back—a lot of ground to make up in 29 games.

No team in the NBA is hotter right now than the Houston Rockets, who have surged into third place in the Western Conference with their seven-game winning streak and are just two games behind San Antonio in the Southwest Division. Considering the Rockets’ last division title came during President Bill Clinton’s first term (1993-94), that’s kind of a big deal. Houston’s on pace for its best season since it was 55-27 in 2007-08, a season that ended with first-round disappointment.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks seem to have hit a bit of a wall. They survived for the first month or so after Al Horford was lost to a torn pectoral muscle, but have lost five in a row and seven of 10 to fall under .500 for the first time since they were 2-3 on Nov. 7.

Meanwhile, here are the current NBA power rankings. If a team has a different ranking than last week, last week’s ranking appears in parenthesis just after the current rank:

1. Oklahoma City (42-12)
2. Indiana (40-12)
3. San Antonio (38-15)
4. Miami (37-14)
5. (7) L.A. Clippers (37-18)
6. Houston (36-17)
7. (5) Portland (36-17)
8. Golden State (31-22)
9. (10) Dallas (32-22)
10. (9) Phoenix (30-21)
11. Toronto (28-24)
12. Memphis (29-23)
13. Minnesota (25-28)
14. Atlanta (25-26)
15. (17) Chicago (26-25)
16. (15) Denver (24-27)
17. (16) Washington (25-27)
18. (19) Brooklyn (24-26)
19. (18) New Orleans (23-29)
20. Charlotte (23-30)
21. (22) Detroit (22-30)
22. (21) New York (20-32)
23. Sacramento (18-35)
24. (26) Cleveland (20-33)
25. Boston (19-35)
26. (27) Utah (19-33)
27. (24) L.A. Lakers (18-34)
28. Orlando (16-38)
29. Philadelphia (15-39)
30. Milwaukee (9-43)

All stats cited below are from NBA.com/Stats and are for the last seven days only.