NBA Power Rankings Week 21: Milwaukee Bucks won’t match Warriors

Last week: Lost to Memphis 127-88, lost at Washington 118-112, lost at Memphis 118-101

This week: Monday vs. Charlotte, Wednesday vs. New York, Saturday vs. Cleveland

The Atlanta Hawks had some momentum after four wins in six games, but that hit a brick wall when the Grizzlies came to State Farm Arena on Monday and decimated the Hawks 127-88, their worst loss at home in more than nine years. The 39-point margin was the worst for the Hawks in a home game since a 100-59 loss to the New Orleans Hornets on Jan. 21, 2011.

Memphis completed the season sweep with a 17-point win on Saturday night, with Atlanta dropping a game at Washington on Friday night in between. The Hawks will have a chance to gain a bit of momentum with home games against fellow Eastern bottom-dwellers in the Hornets, Knicks and Cavaliers.

John Collins at least came back with a solid performance Saturday in Memphis after throwing out a dud on Monday. He scored 27 points with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals on 9-of-16 shooting in 39 minutes and finished the week averaging 21.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks in 33.1 minutes a night, shooting 54.8 percent overall and making 6-of-12 from deep.

Last week: Lost to Milwaukee 93-85, lost to San Antonio 104-103, lost to Denver 114-112, beat Houston 108-99

This week: Monday at Atlanta, Wednesday at Miami, Friday vs. Cleveland

The Charlotte Hornets fell just short of an amazing week after giving the Bucks everything they wanted last Sunday and losing tough ones at home to the Spurs and Nuggets before stunning the Rockets Saturday night. Charlotte snapped a three-game losing streak with the win over Houston, just their fourth over a team that is currently at or above .500 this season.

The Hornets got possession with 16.7 seconds left and trailing by one Tuesday against the Spurs, but Terry Rozier‘s turnover with 4.1 seconds to go sealed Charlotte’s fate. On Thursday against the Nuggets, Jamal Murray hit a mid-range fadeaway with six seconds to go and Rozier’s 3-pointer as time expired was off the mark.

Rookie P.J. Washington stood out in the win over the Rockets with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go with five rebounds and three assists. For the week, Washington put up 18.3 points, 5.3 boards and 3.0 assists in 32.8 minutes per game, shooting 47.2 percent overall and hitting 38.7 percent on 7.8 3-point attempts a night.