The San Antonio Spurs have dealt with quite a bit of adversity this season, with multiple injuries to key players and some noted struggles against the other elite teams in the NBA. But despite that, the Spurs currently have the league’s best record at 46-16 thanks to losses by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
NBA standings 2014: Spurs take over NBA’s best record, Grizzlies move to No. 8 in West
The Spurs have overtaken the Thunder and Pacers for the NBA’s best record, while the Grizzlies have gotten back into the playoff picture as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
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NBA Power Rankings
The Spurs have ridden a six-game winning streak to the top of the rankings. Another Texas team in the Rockets is not far behind. It looked like the Thunder were going to go a half-game up on the Spurs, but a stunning loss to the Los Angeles Lakers squashed that. Oklahoma City blew an 18-point lead in Los Angeles and has now lost two in a row. San Antonio has won six games in a row to overtake the struggling Thunder.
Both the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers are surging up the standings, with the Rockets winners of five in a row and the Clippers seven in a row. Houston is just two games back of Oklahoma City and a half-game up on the Clippers.
At the bottom of the Western Conference playoff race, the Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns have identical 36-26 records, but it’s the Grizzlies who currently hold the No. 8 seed. The Dallas Mavericks are a game ahead of both teams.
Here are the full West standings:
Sunday Shootaround
Over in the Eastern Conference, the top two teams are slumping. The Indiana Pacers remain in first with a record of 46-17, but they’ve lost four games in a row. The Miami Heat haven’t been able to gain much ground because they’ve lost three games in a row themselves, however, both teams have 17 losses.
The rest of the conference hasn’t seen much change, but the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks are trending in the wrong direction. The Hawks have lost six games in a row and are hanging on for dear life as the No. 8 seed, although the Detroit Pistons remain three games behind.
Atlanta’s main concern could be the New York Knicks, who have won three games in a row after being left for dead. The Knicks are a half game behind the Pistons and look like a much more serious threat to Atlanta.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are tied with the Knicks, but four straight losses have them reeling.
Here are the full East standings:
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