NBA Power Rankings: The Clippers keep coming

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 15: Los Angeles Clippers Forward Blake Griffin (32) and Los Angeles Clippers Guard Lou Williams (23) chest bump during an NBA game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers on January 15, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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DALLAS, TX – JANUARY 13: Dirk Nowitzki #41 of the Dallas Mavericks gets introduced before the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on January 13, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images) /

79. . . Previous: 25th. Dallas Mavericks. 27. team

Although the Mavericks lost both of their games this week, they continue to show a great deal of fight, dropping their first game 105-102 to the Nuggets and their second game to the Trail Blazers, 117-108. Dallas rallied from a 23-point deficit in the third quarter to cut the lead to one after a 3-point play by Dennis Smith Jr. with 10 seconds remaining, but couldn’t get a shot off on their final possession to complete the comeback on Tuesday. Smith Jr. had 25 points, and was unstoppable at times in the fourth quarter, showing off the athleticism that makes him such a promising prospect.

The Mavericks lost to the Trail Blazers on Saturday, but I can’t say enough about their competitiveness each night. They were down by 18 to Portland, on a night where Damian Lillard couldn’t miss — literally, he didn’t miss until the third quarter — but they kept scrapping, getting as close as five points with 36 seconds left before they ran out of opportunities.

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