Oklahoma City Thunder make a move in NBA Power Rankings; Bucks still No. 1
By Phil Watson
Brooklyn Nets. 13. team. 147. . 16-13. Previous:
Last week: Beat Philadelphia 109-89, won at New Orleans 108-101 (OT), lost at San Antonio 118-105, beat Atlanta 122-112
This week: Thursday vs. New York, Saturday at Houston
The Brooklyn Nets reeled off three wins in four games with the only blemish coming at San Antonio on Thursday — a place they last won in 2003 when the club was still in New Jersey. Among the triumphs was a 20-point thumping of the 76ers and a come-from-behind win over the Hawks in which they trailed by as much as 18 points before blitzing Atlanta 37-14 in the fourth.
Spencer Dinwiddie is making some serious All-Star noise as he continues to fill in for the injured Kyrie Irving, averaging 33.8 points, 6.0 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 34.0 minutes per game this week, shooting 45.6 percent overall and making 31.0 percent on 7.3 long balls per game. He set a new career-high with 41 points at San Antonio and had 39 in the win over the Hawks.
118. . 18-11. Previous: . Utah Jazz. 12. team
Last week: Beat Orlando 109-102, won at Atlanta 111-106, won at Charlotte 114-107
This week: Monday at Miami, Thursday vs. Portland, Saturday at Clippers
The Utah Jazz had a perfect 3-0 week to run their winning streak to five games, starting off a three-game Eastern swing with wins at Atlanta and Charlotte. The Jazz produce an interesting combination of stats, per Cleaning the Glass, ranking next-to-last in the NBA with an offensive rebounding rate of 22.9 percent, while holding opponents to the third-worst rate (22.6 percent).
Donovan Mitchell had back-to-back 30-point games against the Magic and at Atlanta and for the week averaged 26.7 points, 6.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 35.6 minutes per game as he spent most of the week filling in at the point guard spot for injured Mike Conley. He shot 50.0 percent overall and was 4-for-16 from 3-point range.