NBA power rankings

Michael Lee evaluates the best teams in the National Basketball Association.

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1. San Antonio, last week 3

The Spurs have been a well-oiled machine ever since Gregg Popovich began coaching Tim Duncan, but they continue to roll despite Duncan being out with a sore left knee and an illness forcing Popovich to miss time.

Eric Gay / AP

2. Oklahoma City, last week 1

After spending the first month showcasing a more well-rounded game, Kevin Durant is back on pace to lead the league in scoring for the fourth consecutive season after recently bumping Kobe Bryant from the top spot.

Harry How / Getty Images

3. Miami, last week 4

In win over Toronto, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade both scored 30 points with five rebounds and five assists and shot better than 50 percent for third since joining forces in 2010. Other 29 teams have done it twice since then.

Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images

4. Los Angeles Clippers, last week 2

Chris Paul’s value to the Clippers becoming more apparent as they struggle while he rests a bruised right patella. Despite success against NBA elite, Clippers are 0-2 against Oklahoma City after recent loss in Paul’s absence.

Ross D. Franklin / AP

5. New York, last week 5

Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points for the 27th consecutive game – two shy of the Richie Guerin’s franchise record – while helping the Knicks end an 11-game losing streak in Boston and got some revenge on Kevin Garnett.

BRIAN SNYDER / Reuters

6. Memphis, last week 6

The Grizzlies removed the urgency of having to trade Rudy Gay or Zach Randolph for luxury tax purposes when they dealt Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington and Josh Selby to Cleveland for John Leuer to save $6 million.

Daniel Johnston / AP

7. Golden State, last week 7

David Lee ended the league’s longest all-star drought when he became the first Warrior since Latrell Sprewell in 1997 to make an all-star team. Lee was an injury replacement as a member of the New York Knicks in 2010.

Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

8. Chicago, last week 9

Joakim Noah and Luol Deng both making the all-star team is further affirmation of the job Tom Thibodeau, even with Derrick Rose missing significant time the past two seasons. Rose also became an MVP under Thibodeau’s watch.

TANNEN MAURY / EPA

9. Brooklyn,last week 10

Dwight Howard-for-Brook Lopez rumors have surfaced once again, but Deron Williams calmed them a bit by saying, “Brook is our center.” Lopez failed to make all-star team but leads all centers in scoring and has carried the Nets.

RAY STUBBLEBINE / Reuters

10. Indiana, last week 8

Paul George, the 10th pick of the 2010 draft, became the first all-star from his class – beating John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, among others - after leading the Pacers in scoring in the absence of Danny Granger.

NIKKI BOERTMAN / Reuters

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

Kriket Krekemeyer cries while cleaning up her tornado-ravaged home in Moore, Okla., Wednesday, May 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, Mike Simons)

Photos of the day

Oklahoma tornado wreckage, London terrorism attack, NASA’s Dream Chaser, Triton unmanned aircraft and more.

A police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a meeting of his government's emergency Cobra security committee after the killing of a man in south London, his office said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Terrorism cited in London cleaver attack

Two assailants hacked to death a British soldier on a busy southeast London neighborhood street Wednesday afternoon before delivering an apparent...

MOORE, OK - MAY 22: A street of tornado destructed homes is reflected on a puddle of water on May 22, 2013 in Moore, Ok. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

Assessing tornado damage in Oklahoma

Amid great destruction, residents of the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore begin to assess the severity of the twister that hit Monday.

WASHINGTON DC: MAY 22
Contestant Travis Rumans, 31 dances with his beloved glow sticks for talent at Penn Social in Washington, DC on May 22, 2013. The contestants help raise over $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The Mr. DC pageant is a fundraising event to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
The qualifications for the Mr. District of Columbia finalists is that they must live, work and attend school in the District of Columbia between the ages of 21-30 who are unmarried, intelligent, and dapper in a suit.
(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Mr. D.C. Pageant contestants compete for charity

Contestants in the Mr. D.C. Pageant, a fundraising event, helped raise more than $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - MAY 20: The Herndon Monument Climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the United States Naval Academy. The plebes climb to the top of the lard-covered 21 foot high monument and remove the 'dixie cup' hat at the top replacing it with an upperclassman's hat. After completing this, the freshmen are called 'fourth class midshipmen.' This class completed the task in 1 hour 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The hat was placed by Patrick Lien from Orlando. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The Herndon Climb

The Herndon Monument climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

US comedian Jerry Lewis laughs on May 23, 2013 during a press confrence for the film 'Max Rose' presented Out of Competition at the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes. Cannes, one of the world's top film festivals, opened on May 15 and will climax on May 26 with awards selected by a jury headed this year by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg. AFP PHOTO / LOIC VENANCELOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images

Eye on entertainment

Jerry Lewis, Kat Graham, Zachary Quinto, Aerosmith, Carly Rae Jepsen and more.

This combination of Associated Press photos shows left, a neighborhood in Moore, Okla., in ruins on Tuesday, May 4, 1999, after a tornado flattened many houses and buildings in central Oklahoma, and right, flattened houses in Moore on Monday, May 20, 2013. Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999. (AP Photo)

Okla. tornado loosely followed path of 1999 twister

Monday’s powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the area in May 1999.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Animal views

Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.

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