NBA Power Rankings: Blake Griffin trade shakes things up

The Trail Blazers shook off a three-game losing streak to win five of their last six games, including two wins this week. They dropped a road game against the Denver Nuggets, with Jusuf Nurkic unable to pick up a win in his first return to Denver since he was traded last season. The Bosnian big had 19 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists, but couldn’t keep up his third quarter momentum and his team coughed up a late lead to Jamal Murray, who had a stellar 38 points on the night.

Damian Lillard shook off his defensive performance against Murray with a 31 point evening to celebrate his third All-Star game invitation, helping Portland to a 123-114 win over their division rivals in Minnesota. Portland had 43 points in the third quarter, a season-best for a quarter, and everything was clicking on all cylinders on offense. It was the Trail Blazers seventh-consecutive win at home, as they are beginning to establish a real homecourt advantage.

Lillard overcame a stomach bug to score 29 points against the Mavericks, while Ed Davis continued his strong play off the bench as of late with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Portland is starting to figure things out on offense, and while they’re rumored to be interested in DeAndre Jordan, let’s see if they can pull off a trade to help them secure another trip to the postseason.