NBA Power Rankings: Knicks surge to No. 1; Kevin Durant-led Suns enter top five; Clippers in free fall

Bing bong! The Knicks are officially the hottest team in the NBA, having beaten the Nets, Heat and Celtics twice this week and extended their winning streak to nine games. Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson averaged over 27 points for the week, but the spotlight shifted momentarily to Immanuel Quickly, who led the Knicks to a double overtime victory over Boston on Sunday with a career-high 38 points, eight rebounds and seven gears.

The Nuggets took care of the Rockets before getting revenge on the Grizzlies for last week’s crushing loss. Jamal Murray averaged 27 points in two games, knocking down nine of his 18 3-point attempts, while Denver’s defense only allowed 107 points in 100 possessions.

Well, they have a saying “You can’t win them all” for a reason, and the Bucks figured out why when they lost to the 76ers on Saturday. They followed that up with a new winning streak against the Wizards on Sunday, so it doesn’t look like there’s much to worry about. The buzz around Giannis Antetokounmpo, who posted his usual numbers of 30.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game this week, is growing.

In a week of action, the 76ers parted ways with the Heat before losing to the Mavericks and then snapping the Bucks’ 16-game winning streak in Milwaukee. The latter was an exemplary win, with James Harden scoring 19 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter.

So far so good in the KD era: The Suns beat the Hornets, Bulls and Mavs this week with their new superstar on the floor. Durant averaged 26.7 points in three games, including 37 and a late jump shot in Sunday’s thrilling victory over former teammate Kyrie Irving and the Mavs. Devin Booker didn’t need time to readjust, averaging 36 points, 7.7 assists and 5.6 rebounds on 56/50/78 shooting with Durant by his side.

The Celtics have lost twice this week to the unexpectedly undefeated Knicks (once without Jalen Brunson) and also squandered a 28-point lead in an ugly loss to the Nets. Their only win came against the Cavs when things got too interesting in the last minute. Not all is well in Boston right now.

A valiant late comeback fell through with a loss to the Celtics, and the Cavs took their frustrations out on the Pistons on Saturday with a 24-point win. Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland combined for 73 points against Boston, but only the other two Cavs scored in double figures.

The Kings started the week with wins over the Thunder and Clippers before running out of gas in the Wolves barn on Saturday. Domantas Sabonis hit game-winning free throws with seven seconds remaining against the Clippers and averaged 23 points, 12.3 rebounds and seven assists per game for the week.

The Grizzlies beat the Lakers and Rockets earlier in the week before losing to the Nuggets, and then things got much worse. Ja Morant left the team indefinitely due to some turbulent behavior and Brandon Clarke was out for a year with a torn Achilles tendon. They didn’t have them or Dillon Brooks (disqualified for too many technical fouls) in their loss to the Clippers on Sunday. The next few weeks will certainly require determination from the Memphis Grizzlies franchise from top to bottom.

It looked like the Nets were poised for a third straight loss in a row – instead they came back from 28 points to stun the Celtics on Friday night. They carried that momentum into Sunday’s victory over the Hornets, scoring back-to-back wins for the first time since late January. Mikal Bridges flourished as the No. 1 option, averaging over 30 points per game this week in the 56/53/91 splits. Phew.

An impressive week for the Wolves, who beat three great opponents from the Clippers, Lakers and Kings to end their run on the West Coast. The defense led the first two games before scoring 138 points in Sacramento with seven Wolves in double figures.

The Warriors extended their winning streak to five games without Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins before losing to the Lakers in the first game since Curry. Curry slowly returned to his former form, scoring 19 of 27 points in the fourth quarter.

The Heat had a last-second victory over the 76ers earlier in the week before losing to the Knicks after an incredible 3-pointer Julius Randle won the game. They were also…