What a difference a week makes in the NBA, as the suddenly slipping Houston Rockets have given up No. 1 to a familiar foe.
Thanks to their Christmas Day win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Golden State Warriors are back in the top spot this week as Houston dips to No. 2 following three straight losses. In the Eastern Conference, three losses in four games by the Boston Celtics have paved the way for the Toronto Raptors -- winners of 12 of their past 13 games -- to take the conference lead and leapfrog Boston into the top five of our rankings.
Every week throughout the regular season, our panel (ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz, Amin Elhassan and Ramona Shelburne, The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears and FiveThirtyEight's Chris Herring) will rank the league's 30 teams from top to bottom, with research notes on each team provided by ESPN Stats & Information.
Previous rankings: Week 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1
1. Golden State Warriors
2017-18 record: 27-7
Draymond Green recorded his 20th career triple-double Monday, tying the Warriors' record held since the early 1960s by Tom Gola. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, among the 24 players who have racked up at least 20 triple-doubles in the NBA, Green is the only one whose career scoring average (9.1) is below 10 points per game. -- Jim Merritt
2. Houston Rockets
2017-18 record: 25-7
According to Elias, James Harden is only the second player over the past 20 seasons to score as many as 130 points during a three-game losing streak for his team. The other player was Russell Westbrook, who generated 135 points over a three-game skid for the Thunder in March 2017. -- Jim Merritt
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
2017-18 record: 24-10
The Cavs were held to 31.8 percent shooting in their Christmas Day loss to the defending champion Warriors. In fact, it was the lowest percentage by a Warriors opponent in nearly four years: Charlotte shot 31.2 percent from the field on Feb. 4, 2014. -- Jim Merritt
4. Toronto Raptors
2017-18 record: 23-8
The hottest team in the NBA? That's the Raptors, who have won 12 of their past 13 games. Toronto leads the league in defensive efficiency during this span after ranking 14th over its first 18 games. -- Michael Schwartz
5. Boston Celtics
2017-18 record: 27-10
The Celtics, in their 72nd season, finally hosted their first Christmas Day game on Monday. The franchise had previously played 30 Christmas Day games, all without a true home game, and fell to 14-17 all time after its loss to the Wizards. -- Jim Merritt
6. San Antonio Spurs
2017-18 record: 23-11
Pau Gasol recorded his 10th career triple-double in Saturday's win over the Kings, becoming one of eight active players with double-digit triple-doubles for his career. Gasol has recorded a triple-double for all four of his teams. -- Michael Schwartz
7. Minnesota Timberwolves
2017-18 record: 21-13
According to Elias, Minnesota's 38 fourth-quarter points Monday night against the Lakers was its highest in a victory since Nov. 13, 2016, when the Wolves scored an identical total, also in a victory over the Lakers. -- Jim Merritt
8. Oklahoma City Thunder
2017-18 record: 19-15
During OKC's Christmas Day win, Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony combined for 75 points while making 54.9 percent of their field goal attempts. According to Elias, in no other game this season have Westbrook, George and Anthony combined to score as many points while also hitting as high a percentage of their shots. -- Jim Merritt
9. Washington Wizards
2017-18 record: 19-15
The Wizards franchise has now played 23 games on Christmas Day, and, according to Elias, John Wall is the only player to produce a 20-point, 10-assist game in any of them -- and he now has done that twice after Washington's win over Boston on Monday. -- Jim Merritt
10. Milwaukee Bucks
2017-18 record: 17-14
Eric Bledsoe had arguably his best game as a member of the Bucks on Friday against the Hornets, recording his first 20-point, 10-assist game with the team. Bledsoe has assisted on 32 of Giannis Antetokounmpo's field goals, twice as many as any other Bucks player since Bledsoe's first game with Milwaukee. -- Jose De Leon
11. Indiana Pacers
2017-18 record: 19-14
Victor Oladipo recorded his seventh 30-point game of the season (a career high) in Saturday's win over the Nets. He registered just nine 30-point games in the first four years of his career, and had none last season in OKC. -- Michael Schwartz
12. Denver Nuggets
2017-18 record: 18-15
The Nuggets enjoyed a big week of rare road wins, snapping a nine-game road losing streak at Portland and a five-game road losing streak at Golden State. -- Michael Schwartz
13. Detroit Pistons
2017-18 record: 18-14
After losing a season-high seven straight games, the Pistons have won four of their past five. They're shooting 41 percent from 3-point range in those games; only the Knicks have a higher 3-point percentage during that span. -- Jose De Leon
14. Portland Trail Blazers
2017-18 record: 17-16
On Saturday, the Trail Blazers won their 14th straight game against the Lakers, which is tied for the second-longest winning streak all time by any team against the Lakers. Only the Celtics had a longer streak -- back in the 1950s. -- Michael Schwartz
15. New Orleans Pelicans
2017-18 record: 17-16
The Pelicans play back-to-back games against the Mavericks and Knicks this week and are 3-2 on zero days' rest this season. Last season, the Pelicans went 5-12 on zero days' rest. -- Jose De Leon
16. New York Knicks
2017-18 record: 17-16
Enes Kanter became the fourth player in NBA history with at least 30 points and 20 rebounds on Christmas, joining Wilt Chamberlain (three times), Bob Lanier and Bill Russell, according to Elias Sports Bureau research. -- Michael Schwartz
17. Miami Heat
2017-18 record: 17-16
On Friday against the Mavericks, the Heat played without Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic, James Johnson and Justise Winslow. Dion Waiters played just nine minutes before leaving with an ankle injury. In the win, it was Wayne Ellington who stepped up in their absence. He matched a career high with 28 points and made a career-best eight 3-pointers. -- Jose De Leon
18. Utah Jazz
2017-18 record: 15-19
Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell scored at least 25 points for the ninth time this season in Saturday's loss to the Thunder. That's four more such games than the next-closest rookie: the Lakers' Kyle Kuzma. -- Michael Schwartz
19. Philadelphia 76ers
2017-18 record: 15-18
Joel Embiid had 25 points and 16 rebounds on Christmas Day to outduel Kristaps Porzingis for the second straight game. Over their last two meetings, the Sixers big man has outpaced the Knicks star in points and rebounds (46/30 to 29/9). -- Jim Merritt
20. LA Clippers
2017-18 record: 13-19
Austin Rivers set a career high in scoring in each of his past two games. He scored 36 in Friday's win at Houston and then went for 38 on Saturday at Memphis. -- Michael Schwartz
21. Charlotte Hornets
2017-18 record: 12-21
Dwight Howard recorded 21 points and 16 rebounds in Saturday's win over the Bucks. That marked his fifth 20-15 game of the season, third most in the NBA behind only the Pelicans' DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis. -- Michael Schwartz
22. Los Angeles Lakers
2017-18 record: 11-21
The Lakers, playing on Christmas Day for the 19th consecutive season, missed out on a chance to break a tie with the Knicks for the most wins on Christmas Day, dropping to 22-22 all time. -- Jim Merritt
23. Chicago Bulls
2017-18 record: 10-22
Chicago reeled off seven straight wins before losing consecutive games in Cleveland and Boston. The Bulls' 117-92 loss to the Celtics was their fifth loss by 25 points or more this season, tied with the Kings for the most in the league. -- Jose De Leon
24. Brooklyn Nets
2017-18 record: 12-20
The Nets recorded their best win of the season on Friday, beating the Wizards by 35 points. It marked their first winning margin of at least 35 points since they beat the Wizards by 37 on April 10, 2015. -- Jose De Leon
25. Sacramento Kings
2017-18 record: 11-21
Following Tuesday's road game against the Clippers, the Kings begin a six-game homestand against the Cavaliers on Wednesday, tied for their longest of the season. According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index, Sacramento is favored in just one of those games (56 percent chance to beat the Suns on Friday). -- Jose De Leon
26. Phoenix Suns
2017-18 record: 12-23
Devin Booker is expected back this week for the Suns, who have gone 3-7 in games he has missed this season. In the two games before he was injured late in the fourth quarter at Toronto, Booker scored a combined 84 points. -- Michael Schwartz
27. Orlando Magic
2017-18 record: 11-23
The Magic have lost eight in a row and are 3-19 since a surprising 8-4 start. To add injury to insult, Nikola Vucevic is expected to miss 6-8 weeks after breaking a bone in his left index finger. -- Michael Schwartz
28. Dallas Mavericks
2017-18 record: 9-25
Dirk Nowitzki benefited greatly from Hall of Fame first-time candidates Steve Nash and Jason Kidd. Nash assisted on 797 of Nowitzki's field goals and Kidd assisted on 753 of his field goals, ranking first and second among Nowitzki's teammates in his career. -- Jose De Leon
29. Atlanta Hawks
2017-18 record: 8-25
In Saturday's win against the Mavericks, Dennis Schroder matched his career high with 33 points and four 3-pointers. The last time a Hawks point guard scored that many points at home was March 18, 2014, when Jeff Teague scored 34 points against the Raptors. -- Jose De Leon
30. Memphis Grizzlies
2017-18 record: 10-23
The Grizzlies are 3-18 in games missed by Mike Conley even after Saturday's win over the Clippers. They're 7-5 with Conley, including a pair of wins over the Rockets and one against the Warriors. -- Michael Schwartz