Updated: March 27, 2013, 1:45 AM ET

Power Rankings: MIA, DEN streaking

Week:
 
Team:
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Monday, March 25

The Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets have combined to give us their own twist on March Madness with an NBA first.

Never before has this league witnessed two teams, at the same time, sporting winning streaks that have stretched for at least 15 games.

So it should come as little surprise that the Nuggets, winners of 15 straight entering Monday night's visit to New Orleans, have climbed to a season-high No. 2 in ESPN.com's weekly NBA Power Rankings, right behind mighty Miami as LeBron James & Co. try to extend their own unbeaten run to a whopping 27 games Monday night in Orlando.

The Heat have actually trailed by double figures in each of their past four games, but AccuScore projections (based on 10,000 computer simulations) give Miami an 88 percent chance to beat the Magic on the road, followed up by a 64 percent shot to win Wednesday night at Chicago and 74 percent odds of winning Friday night in New Orleans. If the Heat can come through in all three of those games, their streak will be up to 29 -- four shy of tying the 1971-72 Lakers' record of 33 wins in a row -- heading into an Easter Sunday showdown at San Antonio.

The Nuggets, meanwhile, have even won six straight road games, banishing memories of their 11-19 start on the road and leapfrogging San Antonio in these rankings even though star guard Tony Parker returned to the Spurs about a week earlier than initially projected. New York and Brooklyn are the other big movers in the top half of the rankings, capitalizing on the spills suffered by the Lakers (No. 7 to No. 12) and Boston Celtics (No. 9 to No. 14) to move to Nos. 9 and 10, respectively.

The rankings, as always, were compiled with peerless assisting form ESPN Stats & Information and the Elias Sports Bureau. Click here to rank the teams yourself ... and click here in case you missed our latest Weekend Dime.

Also, check out John Hollinger's daily Power Rankings.

2012-13 Power Rankings: Week 21
RANKTEAM / RECORD TRENDINGCOMMENTS
1
Miami
55-14
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Last Week: 1		The committee (of one) cannot tell a lie. We certainly adhere to the no-cheering-in-the-press-box rule ... but we also wouldn't mind seeing the Heat stretch this thing to 29 in a row. Because then we'd be dispatched to cover their shot at No. 30 in a row in San Antonio on Easter Sunday live.
2
Denver
49-22
1
Last Week: 3		So glad, when someone asked me the other day how I felt about the Nuggets' chances of getting to No. 3, that I essentially scoffed on live radio. Well done, Ace. Denver is 9-4 against the rest of the West's top five, tops in the conference, and clearly in a better groove than the Clips or Griz.
3
1
Last Week: 2		Since I know you want to be fully updated on all streaks, we can confirm that the Spurs still need 14 more home wins in a row over poor Golden State to tie the NBA record. The Dubs have lost their past 29 visits to the Alamo City, but the Kings went 0-for-43 on the road against the Lakers from 1975 through 1992.
4
1
Last Week: 3		I'm as guilty as anyone of taking on a life-or-death tone every time I write about the Thunder in the wake of the James Harden deal. But after seeing that OKC fan make the half-court shot Sunday, then get tackled in celebration by Kevin Durant, I've decided to lighten up. For at least one Monday.
5
1
Last Week: 6		This season's original streakers are a mediocre 23-16 since their 17 wins in a row that put such a nice bow on 2012. The Clips, furthermore, aren't just trailing the Nuggets in the standings, slipping to second in the overall dunk standings -- believe it or not -- with 477 slams to Denver's 561.
6
Memphis
47-22
1
Last Week: 5		Tough spot. But no choice. To have any hope of doing anything in the playoffs, Memphis has to shelve Marc Gasol -- for the rest of the regular season if necessary -- to give his abdominal injury hope of healing. Even if the Grizzlies get stuck with the dreaded No. 5 seed they've got now.
7
Indiana
43-27
1
Last Week: 8		The Pacers are still the closest thing to a consensus No. 2 in the East, but a 4-3 dip since that March 10 rout in Miami has raised questions. Indy's defense never rests, though: Milwaukee just became Indy's single-season club-record 27th opponent to shoot less than 40 percent from the field.
8
Houston
39-31
2
Last Week: 10		They just pulled one out against the Spurs. They hold tiebreakers over Golden State and Utah. They're a season-high eight games over .500. And they've won 11 of 13 at home. So Houston does look like it's going to hang on to a playoff spot, especially with that plus-3.7 nightly point margin.
9
5
Last Week: 14		The fact that pretty much no one in the East outside of Miami is playing with any sort of sustained quality has enabled the Knicks -- even with all those injuries -- to stay right there in the race for the No. 2 seed. They capitalized on last week's cushy schedule to rediscover the 3-ball, too.
10
5
Last Week: 15		The Nets clearly thrive off bulletin-board material. Deron Williams has been a different player since Bill Simmons took such strong issue with his contract. And they're off to a 3-1 start on their very own, Chicago-esque eight-game Circus Road Trip after doom was predicted in this cyberspace.
11
--

Last Week: 11		They're only 6-15 on the road since Jan. 1. And Steph Curry faces yet another ankle problem. So they're by no means playoff-safe even with that home-heavy schedule. Yet we can safely say, one year removed from Dubs fans booing new owner Joe Lacob, that the mood has brightened. Lots.
12
5
Last Week: 7		What was supposed to be the easiest week of the season, with only two space-out games against Phoenix and Washington, might have actually been the worst. Which is saying something with these Lakers. They're now 6-12, amazingly, when Kobe, Dwight, Pau and Nash are all in uniform.
13
Atlanta
39-31
1
Last Week: 12		Here's another Eastern Conference resident, like the Knicks, grateful no team outside of Miami can make the claim that it's playing well. Wins over the Lakers, Nets and Bucks (two) have kept the Hawks firmly in the hunt for home-court advantage in Round 1 despite a 1-7 start in March.
14
Boston
36-33
5
Last Week: 9		Might be time to scrap the whole Not Better But Happier Without Rondo mantra. Radio play-by-play man Sean Grande clued the committee in to the fact that the Celts are 12-1 at home sans Rondo with an average nightly margin of plus-10.2 ... but only 6-12 on the road and a lowly minus-3.4.
15
Chicago
38-31
2
Last Week: 13		Think we all want the same thing: Derrick Rose makes his long-awaited return when the Heat descend upon the Windy City with a 27-game win streak. Don't count on it, though. Hard to imagine, as cautious as D-Rose seems, that Wednesday will be the night to finally spring that comeback on us.
16
Dallas
34-36
2
Last Week: 18		The Mavs are 8-3 since 37-year-old Mike James became the starting point guard and will finish no worse than No. 9 in West with the way Utah's going/giving in. But the last three games of Dallas' crucial six-game homestand offer up no gimmes with the Clips, Pacers and Bulls coming to town.
17
2
Last Week: 19		Must be so sweet for John Wall, after all the heat he took from agent David Falk and all the time he missed while his knee healed, to have the Wizards at 20-15 in his comeback ... with victories over the likes of the Thunder, Clips, Nuggets and, of course, Friday night's stunner over the Lakers.
18
2
Last Week: 20		The standing math says that the Blazers, no matter how many times we've written them off, still deserve to be lumped in as one of six teams alive for the West's final three playoff berths. Even after dropping 15 of their past 19 road games. So talk to us, Blazermaniacs. How do you see it?
19
2
Last Week: 17		Will we ever learn? Bumped the Bucks up to No. 12, giving them another chance to prove they could handle prosperity, then promptly watched them drop six of the next eight games ... with Larry Sanders getting tossed three times in a six-game span. Maybe they do want Miami in Round 1.
20
Utah
34-36
4
Last Week: 16		Don't want to hear about how eight of the next 10 games are at home after the Jazz lost to the Knicks (minus Melo and Chandler) when last seen in the SLC. They're 3-12 since going seven games over .500 on Feb. 19 ... and Al Jefferson hasn't cracked 20 points for eight straight games.
21
3
Last Week: 24		It would take far more space than we have here to properly recap the litany of errors that led to Philly's collapse in Denver with a golden opportunity to halt the Nuggets' win streak at 13. Bouncing back with a win in Sac-Town, though, did allow the Sixers to halt that 15-game road losing skid.
22
New Orleans
24-46
6
Last Week: 16		The Hornets have moved out of the Western Conference cellar, boast five wins in their past six meetings with Boston and have happily watched Anthony Davis quietly average 15.1 points and 9.5 rebounds while shooting 52.0 percent from the floor since the All-Star break. Bright spots!
23
2
Last Week: 21		Will we see Kyrie Irving again this season? Should we see Kyrie Irving again this season? Those are probably the only pertinent questions still worth asking about the 2012-13 Cavs with Dion Waiters -- and obviously Anderson Varejao -- on the shelf in worse shape than Kyrie.
24
2
Last Week: 22		Kevin Love's weekend appearance to collect his Olympic ring was a reminder that the Wolves were actually 9-9 with Love in uniform this season. Without him? They just clinched their eighth successive losing season and face the real and troubling possibility now of Rick Adelman stepping down.
25
--

Last Week: 25		As hopeless as things seem on the floor lately, with the Kings possibly down to their final six games at Arco Arena, Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson has kept hope alive with the arena deal he announced Saturday. They're making the Seattle group sweat more than a lot of us ever imagined.
26
Toronto
26-44
3
Last Week: 23		Amir Johnson's progress, while notable, is only going to satiate the Raps' rabid fans for so long. Even Toronto's hopes of a second-half surge to secure Best of the Worst status have faded with Rudy Gay (back) ailing and Washington surging away from the wreckage of its 4-28 start.
27
Phoenix
23-48
--

Last Week: 27		On course now to post the lowest single-season win percentage in franchise history, all Phoenix can do is root for the Lakers' woeful week to snowball into their first full-on catastrophe since the All-Star break, since the Suns get L.A.'s lottery pick if Steve Nash's new team misses the playoffs.
28
Detroit
24-47
--

Last Week: 28		Come back, Andre Drummond! The Pistons have a league-low two wins since the All-Star break and are in the midst of their third double-digit losing streak in the past four seasons. The franchise witnessed just four double-digit losing streaks in its previous 61 seasons ... none since 1993-94.
29
Orlando
18-52
--

Last Week: 29		Not-so-fearless prediction: With Arron Afflalo out and Nikola Vucevic doubtful by all accounts, Orlando ain't going to be taking the Heat down to the final seconds like it did in Miami on March 6. Unlike AccuScore, we're giving El Magic nothing more than a 1.2 percent chance of winning.
30
--

Last Week: 30		Hate to be so doomsday after a week in which the Bobcats actually won a couple, but Sean Deveney of the Sporting News pointed out recently that Philly -- thanks to Dr. J's arrival -- was in the Finals within five years of its 9-73 season. Can't even begin to fathom a similar story in Charlotte.
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