NBA Power Rankings Week 15: Concerns for Milwaukee Bucks, other contenders

Last week: Beat Miami 107-102, won at Phoenix 120-118, won at New Orleans 121-117, lost to Phoenix 103-99

This week: Sunday vs. Toronto, Monday at Chicago, Wednesday vs. Utah, Saturday vs. Charlotte

It was a 3-1 week for the San Antonio Spurs, capped with a disappointing loss to the Suns on Friday after three consecutive victories, including a pair of road wins. It was the first time the Spurs had won three straight games since their 3-0 start from Oct. 23-28. That was followed by 11 losses in 13 games. San Antonio is hoping for a better follow-up this time.

LaMarcus Aldridge continued his solid play and kept firing from deep, averaging 22.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.3 steals in 35.2 minutes per game, shooting 53.3 percent overall and hitting 5-of-14 from long range. He had 32 points and 14 boards to go with a pair of blocks in the win at New Orleans on Thursday, a performance that most went unnoticed.

Last week: Won at Charlotte 106-83, lost to Oklahoma City 120-114, lost to Boston 109-98

This week: Sunday vs. Clippers, Monday at Miami, Saturday vs. Miami

The NBA’s quirky schedule will visit the Orlando Magic this week, as they will play a home-road back-to-back Sunday and Monday, then get four full days off before hosting the Heat on Saturday. A blowout win at Charlotte capped a 3-3 road trip before the Magic came home and lost to the Thunder and Celtics.

Nikola Vucevic averaged 21.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.7 steals in 33.5 minutes per game last week, shooting 45.8 percent overall and going 7-for-19 from 3-point range. He had double-doubles in all three games and has an active streak of four straight. But his on-again, off-again shooting still plagued him — he was 6-for-18 in the loss to the Celtics.