Play.
The Bulls won in the late game thanks to a 38 drop by DeRozan.
The Bulls defeated the Lakers 115-110 with DeMar DeRozan scoring 38 points. The song is called "1:27."
Stephen Curry started the week in pursuit of Ray Allen's 3-point record. Curry hit six 3s on Monday night against the Indiana Pacers to pull within two shots of the top spot, then quickly hit two 3s in the first quarter of Tuesday's win over the New York Knicks, bringing the crowd at Madison Square Garden to its feet.
Three games were postponed on Sunday due to the high number of players entering the league's health and safety protocols. The Brooklyn Nets announced Friday that they would be able to use Irving in road games because of the team outbreak. Irving was one of 10 players out because of health and safety protocols.
Our experts break down where each team stands.
Our panel (Tim Bontemps, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing.
1. The Phoenix Suns have a 24-5 record.
The previous ranking was 1
After missing seven games with a injury, Booker returned to the court on Sunday night. The Phoenix team put up a balanced effort without Booker, but one player in particular who stepped up his play was reserve forward Cameron Johnson. In the seven games, Johnson averaged 14.6 points and was the second-leading scorer.
2. The Golden State Warriors had a 24-6 record.
The previous ranking was 2.
Stephen Curry broke Ray Allen's all-time 3-point record at Madison Square Garden early in the week, and the Warriors went on to finish with a 3-2 record on their five-game East Coast swing. Klay Thompson is still on track to return in a few weeks, but Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins both entered health and safety protocols to make sure they are ready to face the Suns on Christmas Day.
3. Brooklyn Nets had a 21-9 record.
The previous ranking was 4.
The recent surge of COVID-19 cases in New York has overwhelmed the Nets. The league had 10 players go into the health and safety protocols during the week, including superstars Kevin Durant and James Harden. When Harden was injured in the opening moments of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Milwaukee, he and the two other guys were not on the court together.
4. Utah Jazz had a 20-9 record.
The previous ranking was 3.
The Utah Jazz had an eight-game winning streak halted by back-to-back home losses to the Spurs and Wizards. The Jazz have the best net rating in the league at plus-10.5 points per 100 possessions, but Utah has been mediocre in clutch situations, where they have been.500 in games within five points in the final five minutes.
5. The Milwaukee Bucks had a 19-13 record.
The previous ranking was 5.
In recent games, Jrue Holiday has stepped up his production in the absence of Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Holiday averaged 28.7 points with nine assists, three rebound and two steals in three games last week as the Bucks looked to stay afloat with a weakened roster.
6. The Chicago Bulls had a record of 18-10).
The previous ranking was 7.
The Bulls returned to play on Sunday after being shut down for a week due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In his second game back from health and safety protocols, DeMar DeRozan dropped 19 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Raptors to a victory. The Bulls could have more reinforcements on the way by the end of the week, as DeMar DeRozan, Coby White and Javonte Green have all cleared the league's protocols.
7. The Cleveland Cavaliers had a 19-12 record.
The previous ranking was 10.
The game against the Hawks was postponed on Sunday due to health and safety protocols being setbacks for five players. Cleveland is riding a six-game winning streak and is moving up to third in the East.
8. The Miami Heat record is 18-13.
The previous ranking was 6.
The banged-up Heat went 2-2 on the week, including a disappointing loss to the Pistons in which Miami shot just 37.8% from the field. The Heat have gotten a couple of nice games from reserve Max Strus, who scored a combined 56 points and grabbed 11 rebound over Miami's past two games.
9. The Memphis Grizzlies had a 19-12 record.
The previous ranking was 9.
Since Ja Morant went down with a left knee injury, the team has won 10 of 12 games. Five Memphis regulars are scoring in double figures during the stretch, led by the 20 points per game of DillonBrooks. Tyus Jones has 73 assists and only 13 turnovers in 12 games, which is the second-best plus-minus for the team.
10. The LA Clippers had a 16-14 record.
The previous ranking was 12.
The week started with the Clippers winning their fourth straight and enjoying a victory over the Suns without Paul George, but it ended with a buzzer-beating 3 by former Clippers guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to stun them in Oklahoma City and hand them a second straight loss. The Clippers need to be healthy. George has been out with an elbow injury for five straight. The Clippers lost Marcus Morris Jr., who was warming up after returning from a knee injury, to health and safety protocols. Reggie Jackson is banged up and has been playing a lot.
11. The Denver Nuggets had a 15-14 record.
The previous ranking was 16.
Christmas is on Sat., December 25.
Hawks at Knicks.
The Celtics and the Bucks are playing at 2:30 p.m.
The Warriors are at the Suns.
The Nets are at the Lakers.
The Mavericks play the Jazz at 10:30.
All times Eastern.
The Nets were decimated by the COVID-19 outbreak and were scheduled to face the Nuggets on Sunday, but that game was postponed. Jokic has averaged 26.4 points, 13.1 rebound, 9.2 assists and 58.3% shooting this month. The Nuggets got some firepower off the bench with the best game of the young man's career by Bones Hyland, who had 24 points in a win over Atlanta.
12. Philadelphia 76ers had a 15-15 record.
The previous ranking was 8.
The 76ers lost three games in a row and had a game postponed because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The 76ers are missing Ben Simmons and have some injuries of their own, but things are very different in Philadelphia now as compared to when the team was leading the Eastern Conference through 10 games.
13. The Los Angeles Lakers had a 16-15 record.
The previous ranking was 13
After L.A. lost at Chicago on Sunday with six players in health and safety protocols, Anthony said it was going around the league. It's going around other leagues. This is reality. This is what life is all about. This is something that we have to deal with as a society, not just as basketball players. These are things that we are dealing with right now. Anthony Davis is expected to be out for at least a month with a left knee injury.
14. The Washington Wizards had a 16-15 record.
The previous ranking was 11.
Washington's hot start has ended. One of the Wizards' biggest wins of the season was at Utah. Bradley might be heating up. He has averaged 31 points in the past three games, including a season-high 37 in the win against the Jazz. Washington got Kyle Kuzma back out of health and safety protocols last week, but Spencer Dinwiddie is in a slump, shooting 26.8% and only 14.8% from 3-point range this month.
15. The Boston Celtics had a 15-15 record.
The previous ranking was 17
The Celtics are 4-5 through the first nine games of the month, but they have two important games this week and a Christmas Day game against the Milwaukee Brewers. While the Celtics have several players out due to COVID-19, they finally have two healthy players in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Boston is out scoring its opponents by six points per 100 possessions in the time they've shared the court.
16. The Charlotte Hornets had a 16-16 record.
The previous ranking was 14.
Charlotte has dropped three of its past four and still has two tough games to close out a six-stop West Coast swing. The Hornets got a 41 point performance from Gordon Hayward in a win over the Spurs. The good news for the Hornets is that LaMelo Ball returned to the lineup on Friday after missing just over two weeks in health and safety protocols.
17. The Dallas Mavericks had a 14-15 record.
The previous ranking was 18.
Luka Doncic nursed his sore left ankle and worked on his conditioning while the Mavs split their past four games. Dallas needs Doncic to give a better defensive effort when he comes back. The Mavs have been a bottom-five defense with Doncic on the floor and a top-five defense without him.
18. The Atlanta Hawks had a 14-15 record.
The previous ranking was 15.
Trae Young had his seventh 30-point, 10-assist game on Friday. This season, he has three such games. Young has three in December. As of late, those averages have become closer to the norm for him. Sources say that Young tested positive for Covid-19 and will not be able to build on his averages this week.
19. The Minnesota Timberwolves had a 15-15 record.
The previous ranking was 20.
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Despite losing guard Anthony Edwards to health and safety protocols, the Timberwolves have climbed back to.500. The team is starting to position itself in the Western Conference playoff picture and Karl- Anthony Towns is leading the charge. During the month of December, Towns is averaging 27.3 points, 9.1 rebound and 3.7 assists.
20. The Raptors record is 14-15.
The previous ranking was 19
OG Anunoby was back in the lineup Saturday night after missing a month with a hip injury, but Pascal Siakam will be out for several days after entering the NBA's health and safety protocols. Despite a constant shuffling of the lineup, Toronto has remained in the playoff race.
21. The Portland Trail blazers had a 13-18 record.
The previous ranking was 22.
The two biggest wins of the season might have been by the Blazers. The two victories are the most important because of how things were going for Portland. The Trail blazers needed 43 points and eight assists from Damian Lillard to beat the Hornets and end their seven-game losing streak. The Blazers followed that up with a win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. It was their third win in a row, but it was not enough to stop the bleeding. He missed his seventh game on Sunday with a lung injury.
22. The New York Knicks had a 13-17 record.
The previous ranking was 21.
Kemba Walker was put back on the court Saturday night in Boston after being removed from the rotation for nine games. Every other point guard on the roster was either injured or in health and safety protocols, so Tom had no choice but to play him. Walker scored 29 points and when asked if he wanted to stay in New York, he said he wanted to play. The Knicks have lost a lot of games.
23. The Pacers had a 13-18 record.
The previous ranking was 24.
The Pacers practiced on Sunday for the first time since coach Rick Carlisle missed four games due to health and safety protocols. The Pacers went 2-2 during his absence, but he should be out for Tuesday's game against the Heat.
24. The Kings record was 13-18.
The previous ranking was 25.
The Kings lost to the Raptors and the Grizzlies and beat the Wizards and Spurs. With De'Aaron Fox in health and safety protocols for the game against San Antonio, Tyrese Haliburton stepped up with a season-high 27 points on 12-for-19 shooting, 11 assists and two steals.
25. The San Antonio Spurs had a record of 11-17.
The previous ranking was 23.
Dejounte Murray was the top scorer on Sunday night. He was the sixth different player to lead the team in points in the past six games. It was San Antonio's fifth game in a row with a different leading rebounder.
26. The Houston Rockets had a 10-20 record.
The previous ranking was 26.
Garrison Mathews was rewarded by the Rockets this week with a four-year deal worth $8.2 million, after converting his two-way deal to a standard contract. The past 12 games have been started by Mathews. During that time, Mathews has averaged 14.6 points and 3.9 rebound with a 63.8 true shooting percentage.
27. The New Orleans Pelicans had a 10-21 record.
The previous ranking was 27.
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The Pelicans have won seven of their past 12 games after a 3-16 start. The Pelicans are in the bottom five in both offensive and defensive rating. They have an offensive rating of 111.3 and a defensive rating of 111.2, which rank 14th and 15th in the league, over the last month.
28. The Oklahoma City Thunder had a9-19 record.
The previous ranking was 28.
Gilgeous-Alexander's buzzer-beater over the Clippers overshadowed Josh Giddey's near triple-double. Giddey had 18 rebound and 10 assists in the victory. Giddey was the first teenager in NBA history to grab at least 15 rebound and dish out at least 10 assists.
29. The Magic's record was 6-25.
The previous ranking was 29
Despite being ravaged by health and safety protocols, and with an undermanned Brooklyn squad, it was able to snap a seven-game losing skid on Saturday night. Robin Lopez, a veteran big man, had 20 points and 10 rebound in the win over the Nets after not playing much this season.
30. The Detroit Pistons had a 5-24 record.
The previous ranking was 30.
The Pistons avoided setting a new franchise record with a victory against the Heat. The Pistons' losing streak was the second longest in the NBA this season, behind Houston's 15-game streak, and it was the longest in team history.
