Eastern Conference

The Miami Heat looked to be in a spot of bother after suffering a string of losses but are on track once more after ending the week with three consecutive wins. Their most recent was a hard-fought 100-94 win over the Atlanta Hawks. The Milwaukee Bucks continued on their impressive run closing out the week with a 92-85 win over the LeBron-James-less Cleveland Cavaliers. Rookie Brandon Jennings led his team with 25 points.

The Boston Celtics put in an impressive defensive performance as they restricted the Philadelphia 76ers to 86 points in their win over them last Friday helping them back to third in the conference. The Orlando Magic ended the week wins in their four encounters inclusive of a 10-point win over the Nets.

The Detroit Pistons have a lot of work to do if they are to regain the type of form they had in the earlier part of the decade. Their six-game losing streak is the worst in the East at present, leaving them 13th in the conference.

Play-off hopefuls the Chicago Bulls are on a four-game losing streak at present and will have to reshape their tactics quickly as the Charlotte Bobcats are just a win away from replacing them as the eight team in the conference. The Indiana Pacers are also suffering from four consecutive losses while the Washington Wizards and New York Knicks ended the week with two straight defeats.

The New Jersey Nets recorded their seventh win of the season as they cruised past the New York Knicks 113-93.

Record-setting Mavs

Western Conference

The Dallas Mavericks ended last week in sublime form. After an impressive showing the week before, the Mavs extended their winning streak to 11 which was a league best with Jason Kidd still pulling the strings and reliving the days of his youth.

The San Antonio Spurs are also on a superb run, powering their way to four consecutive wins. Wins over the New Orleans Hornets and the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday and Saturday respectively showed signs of appropriate progression. In a quest to cement their play-off spot the Portland Trailblazers embarked on a mission and came up successful as they closed the week with three consecutive wins the last being a 102-79 win over the Pacers.

The Phoenix Suns closed to week as the most in-form team behind the Knicks. A 113-105 win over the Pacers backed by 30 points from Amare Stoudamaire enabled them to end the week with a win. The Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz closed the week on two-game winning streaks and are both comfortably placed in third and fourth position respectively. The Oklahoma City Thunder also ended the week with a win, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 104-87, Kevin Durant top-scoring with 32 points.

Though hoping to make a late run for the playoffs, the New Orleans Hornets are virtually out of the race after being hit by a four-game losing streak to end the week. The city of Los Angeles suffered a lot last week as both the Clippers and the Lakers ended the week with three-consecutive losses. In a repeat of last year’s NBA Finals, The Magic dug deep to upstage the defending champions 96-94.

Jazz guard Deron Williams (8) beats Clippers forward Travis Outlaw (34) to the loose ball during the second half of their NBA basketball game Saturday, March 6, 2010, in Salt Lake City. Jazz beat the Clippers 107-85.