Despite seeing their 17-game winning streak come to an end against the Toronto Raptors, the Houston Rockets are in no danger of losing their No. 1 position in the NBA Power Rankings. And even after back-to-back losses without Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors still call their familiar No. 2 spot home for now.
With Houston's run -- as well as the 10-gamer by the New Orleans Pelicans -- now history, the Portland Trail Blazers (nine games) and Raptors (eight) own the longest active winning streaks in the league.
Every week throughout the regular season, our panel (ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz, Amin Elhassan and Ramona Shelburne, The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears and FiveThirtyEight's Chris Herring) will rank the league's 30 teams from top to bottom, with research notes on each team provided by ESPN Stats & Information.
Week: 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14
13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1
1. Houston Rockets
2017-18 record: 52-14
The Rockets' 17-game winning streak -- five away from the longest in franchise history -- was snapped Friday against the Raptors. Houston was strong on both ends of the court during the streak (which ran from Jan. 28 to March 7), leading the NBA in offensive efficiency and ranking fourth in defensive efficiency, according to NBA.com Advanced Stats. -- Matt Williams
2. Golden State Warriors
2017-18 record: 51-16
The Warriors are 11-6 and averaging 13.2 fewers points per game without Stephen Curry in the lineup this season. Golden State's next game is Wednesday against the Lakers on Curry's 30th birthday. According to Elias Sports Bureau research, he has averaged 25.4 PPG on March 14, the fourth-highest average on a birthday in NBA history (minimum five games). -- Matt Williams
3. Toronto Raptors
2017-18 record: 49-17
The Raptors are an NBA-best 15-1 since Feb. 2, and one of the main reasons has been bench production. During that span, Toronto leads the NBA in bench scoring at 48.9 points per game with a plus-10.1 point differential. -- Matt Williams
4. Portland Trail Blazers
2017-18 record: 40-26
With long winning streaks for the Rockets and Pelicans both falling on Friday, Portland's nine-game run is now the longest active streak in the NBA. Perhaps more impressive is that two of the Warriors' past three losses have come at the hands of the Blazers. -- Michael Schwartz
5. Boston Celtics
2017-18 record: 46-21
Kyrie Irving left Sunday's game during the first half with left knee soreness. With Irving in the game on Sunday, Boston outscored Indiana by 11 points. Without Irving, the Pacers outscored the Celtics by 13. -- Matt Williams
6. Cleveland Cavaliers
2017-18 record: 38-28
The Cavaliers are 4-6 since the All-Star break and have kicked off their six-game road trip with a win and two losses. Following Sunday's loss, the Cavaliers fell to the 4-seed in the Eastern Conference. Two LeBron James-led teams have previously finished the regular season as the 4-seed: the 2007-08 and 2005-06 Cavaliers. Both were knocked out in the second round of the playoffs. -- Jose De Leon
7. Utah Jazz
2017-18 record: 37-30
The Jazz are 18-2 since Jan. 24 but still sit outside the top eight in the West, losing the tiebreaker to the Clippers. The good news? Four of Utah's next five games are against teams at least 20 games below .500. -- Matt Williams
8. Oklahoma City Thunder
2017-18 record: 39-29
The Thunder better fatten up on games against the Kings and Hawks this week. After that, they play 11 games in a row against potential playoff teams before finishing at Memphis. That adds up to the fourth-toughest remaining schedule by opponent win percentage. -- Michael Schwartz
9. Philadelphia 76ers
2017-18 record: 36-29
The 76ers will look to extend their home winning streak to 12 games on Tuesday against the Pacers. They haven't had a winning streak that long since reeling off 24 straight at home from November 1982 to March 1983. -- Jose De Leon
10. Washington Wizards
2017-18 record: 38-29
The Wizards are 2-4 in their past six games, and one of the biggest issues has been defending drives to the basket. According to Second Spectrum data, Washington is allowing 1.07 points per direct drive since Feb. 28, tied for third worst over that span. From Jan. 27 to Feb. 27, the first month without John Wall, the Wizards allowed 0.92 points per drive, tied for fourth best during that stretch. -- Matt Williams
11. Indiana Pacers
2017-18 record: 39-28
The Pacers are 9-3 in their past 12 games, and a key piece during this stretch has been Bojan Bogdanovic. He is averaging just under 18 points per game on 53 percent shooting from the floor and 47 percent from deep and has made 17 of his 29 3-point attempts from the right side of the court, per NBA.com Advanced Stats. -- Jose De Leon
12. New Orleans Pelicans
2017-18 record: 38-28
The Pelicans saw their 10-game winning streak snapped on Friday against the Wizards as Anthony Davis was out of the lineup with an ankle injury. It tied the longest winning streak in franchise history. The Pelicans, then known as the Hornets, last won 10 straight in January 2011. -- Matt Williams
13. Minnesota Timberwolves
2017-18 record: 39-29
With their win against the Warriors on Sunday, the Timberwolves improved to 2-8 against the top four teams in the NBA (Rockets, Warriors, Raptors, Celtics). Their only other win came on Jan. 20 against the Raptors. -- Jose De Leon
14. San Antonio Spurs
2017-18 record: 37-29
The Spurs' loss on Saturday in Oklahoma City assured them of their first losing road record since 1996-97. San Antonio's 20-season streak was the longest by any team in NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL history, according to Elias Sports Bureau research. The Yankees (1946-64) had the second-longest such streak at 19 seasons. -- Michael Schwartz
15. Denver Nuggets
2017-18 record: 37-30
Nikola Jokic recorded his 13th career triple-double Sunday. According to Elias Sports Bureau research, he is one triple-double shy of matching Hakeem Olajuwon for the most by a player born outside the United States. -- Jose De Leon
16. LA Clippers
2017-18 record: 36-29
Lou Williams' career year continued in Saturday's win over the Magic as he scored at least 25 points for the 23rd time this season -- eclipsing his previous career high by 10 games. -- Michael Schwartz
17. Milwaukee Bucks
2017-18 record: 35-31
The Bucks have struggled since their 9-2 start under Joe Prunty; over their past 10 games, they are 3-7 while allowing 112 points per game. In the first 11 games under Prunty, Milwaukee allowed 95.9 PPG, best in the NBA over that span. -- Matt Williams
18. Los Angeles Lakers
2017-18 record: 30-36
Julius Randle had a night against the Cavaliers on Sunday. He finished with a career-high 36 points, including 23 in the second half, his most in a half in his career. The Lakers have scored at least 100 points in 21 straight games, their longest streak since a 35-game streak from January to March 1988, per Elias Sports Bureau research. -- Jose De Leon
19. Miami Heat
2017-18 record: 36-31
Even with Hassan Whiteside sidelined, the Heat throttled the Wizards on Saturday. They led by as many as 38 points, their largest lead in a game since Jan. 12, 2013, and scored a season-high 129 points. Their 76 points in the paint are the franchise's second most in a game over the past 20 seasons. -- Michael Schwartz
20. Charlotte Hornets
2017-18 record: 29-38
Dwight Howard recorded his 60th career game with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's win over the Suns. But such a stat line is no longer common for Howard, whose last such game came in November 2016 while with the Hawks. -- Michael Schwartz
21. Detroit Pistons
2017-18 record: 30-36
The early returns on the Blake Griffin trade are uninspiring for the Pistons as their .412 win percentage in games Griffin has played is worse than their .469 win percentage without him. Meanwhile, the Clippers are 11-4 since their trade acquisitions debuted to make a playoff push in the competitive Western Conference. And they will receive the Pistons' 2018 first-rounder if it's not in the top four. -- Michael Schwartz
22. Chicago Bulls
2017-18 record: 23-43
The Bulls are starting to create a little separation between themselves and the bottom of the NBA. Chicago is 3-2 in March, already posting more wins than it had in all of February (two). On Sunday, the Bulls scored 129 points, their most in a game this season. -- Matt Williams
23. Dallas Mavericks
2017-18 record: 21-46
The Mavericks' 34-point win on Saturday over the Grizzlies was their largest of the season and also marked the first time in two months they've won consecutive games. -- Michael Schwartz
24. Brooklyn Nets
2017-18 record: 21-46
D'Angelo Russell has had success facing the 76ers at home. He shot 53.3 percent from the floor Sunday and 52.9 percent in their Jan. 31 matchup, his two best shooting percentages at home this season. He finished with 26 points Sunday, his second-highest total in a home game this season. -- Jose De Leon
25. Sacramento Kings
2017-18 record: 21-46
Bogdan Bogdanovic has made 104 3-pointers this season, the most by a Kings rookie in team history. He ranks fourth in 3s and 3-point percentage among the league's rookies this season. -- Jose De Leon
26. New York Knicks
2017-18 record: 24-43
The Knicks have lost 15 of their past 16 games. During this stretch, they're shooting a league-worst 29 percent from 3-point territory and 33.5 percent on wide-open 3s, per NBA.com Advanced Stats. Only the Suns (33.3 percent) are worse. -- Jose De Leon
27. Orlando Magic
2017-18 record: 20-47
The Magic have lost 27 of their past 30 road games, but after visiting San Antonio on Tuesday, they will play the rest of their March schedule in the Magic Kingdom. Their seven-game homestand concludes with tank-race battles against the Suns, Nets and Bulls. -- Michael Schwartz
28. Atlanta Hawks
2017-18 record: 20-47
The Hawks have officially been eliminated from postseason contention. Entering this season, they had made the playoffs in 10 straight seasons, which was the second-longest active streak in the league. Only the Spurs have had a longer active streak at 20 straight. -- Matt Williams
29. Memphis Grizzlies
2017-18 record: 18-48
The Grizzlies lost their 17th straight game on Saturday in Dallas, extending their longest losing streak since a franchise-record 23-gamer in the 1995-96 season. Even with all those losses, the Grizzlies are only percentage points "ahead" of the Suns for the worst record in the NBA. -- Michael Schwartz
30. Phoenix Suns
2017-18 record: 19-49
The Suns have lost 20 of their past 22 games, and we can expect the losses to continue with Phoenix's toughest 10-game stretch (per BPI) coming up, including two games against both the Warriors and Cavs and one each against the Rockets and Celtics. -- Michael Schwartz