NBA Power Rankings Week 20: What history will Milwaukee Bucks make?

Last week: Beat Indiana 127-81, lost to Milwaukee 108-97, lost to Charlotte 99-96

This week: Sunday at Denver, Tuesday at Phoenix, Thursday at Golden State

The Toronto Raptors did something last week they hadn’t done in 2020: lose consecutive games. The Raptors had not lost two games in succession since Dec. 23 and 25 and hadn’t lost two straight at home since losses to the Trail Blazers and Spurs on Jan. 7 and 12. While it’s hard to fault Toronto for losing to the red-hot Bucks, the loss to the Hornets was a surprise.

It was just the third time this season the Raptors have lost to a sub-.500 team at home and their first since dropping those consecutive home games to Portland and San Antonio in January. Toronto was able to maintain its hold on second place in the Eastern Conference when the Celtics lost to Houston on Saturday night.

Individually, Pascal Siakam ran his streak of consecutive 20-point games to four, averaging 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 blocks in 36.0 minutes per game over the three games last week. He shot 46.9 percent overall and was 7-for-18 from 3-point range. Siakam had 24 points with nine boards, four dimes and two steals in the loss to Charlotte on Friday.

Last week: Beat Memphis 124-97, won at Phoenix 102-92, beat Denver 132-103

This week: Sunday vs. Philadelphia, Tuesday at Oklahoma City, Thursday at Houston

There’s nothing quite like three straight double-digit wins — including a 29-pounding of the team you had been chasing in the standings — to take away the panic from a three-game losing streak. The LA Clippers did just that last week, hammering both the Grizzlies and Nuggets at home to go with a road win at Phoenix to grab second place in the Western Conference.

They hold the tiebreaker over the Nuggets with a better record in-conference, with the teams to decide the head-to-head matchup later this month (March 18) at Denver. Dallas may not be a great first-round matchup, but the Clippers may be interested in steering clear of Chris Paul and the Thunder.

While Kawhi Leonard couldn’t throw a rock in an ocean from 3-point range last week, he still averaged 22.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals in 28.6 minutes per game in the three victories, shooting 50.0 percent overall even as he was just 2-for-15 from deep. He went for 24 points, 14 boards, five dimes and three steals to help beat the Suns on Wednesday.