NBA Power Rankings: Rudy Gobert leads Utah Jazz up the charts
By Phil Watson
79. . 27-15. Previous: . Dallas Mavericks. 3. team
Last week: Won at Golden State 124-97, won at Sacramento 127-123, beat Portland 120-112
This week: Tuesday vs. Clippers, Thursday at Portland, Saturday at Utah
The Dallas Mavericks had a perfect 3-0 week last week, a run that included a Northern California sweep at Golden State and Sacramento, to extend their winning streak to four games. Dallas’ win over the Warriors completed a three-game season sweep by a combined margin of 95 points, taking each game by at least 20 points, including a Nov. 20 victory by a whopping 48.
That remains the second-largest blowout this season, one point less than the Clippers evisceration of the Hawks on Nov. 16.
Luka Doncic warmed up a bit with his shooting while averaging 26.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists in 31.7 minutes per game over last week’s three outings. He shot 45.0 percent overall and 38.5 percent on 8.7 triple tries per game, going 8-for-12 in the win over the Trail Blazers on Friday. Wednesday, Doncic had his 12th triple-double of the year with 25 points, 17 dimes and 15 boards.
34-8. Previous: . Los Angeles Lakers. 2. team. 20.
Last week: Beat Cleveland 128-99, lost to Orlando 119-118, won at Houston 124-115
This week: Monday at Boston, Wednesday at New York, Thursday at Brooklyn, Saturday at Philadelphia
The Los Angeles Lakers opened a rugged five-game road trip Saturday night with a win at Houston before heading to Boston. They’ll also visit Philadelphia, with the New York double dip with the Knicks and Nets in between. The Lakers lost to the Magic on Wednesday to end a nine-game winning streak, but remain one of just two teams still in single-digits in the loss column.
With Anthony Davis out all week recovering from a bruised … ahem … backside, LeBron James took up the slack, averaging 27.0 points, 13.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 34.8 minutes per game while hitting 53.3 percent from the field. James was just 5-for-19 from 3-point range.
He lit up his former Cavaliers teammates — the two that are still there, anyway — on Monday, going for 23 of his 31 points after halftime as L.A. outscored Cleveland 81-51 in the second half after trailing 48-47 at the break.