The Rockets announced their presence as a title contender this week, but everyone is still chasing Oklahoma City in the West. 1. Oklahoma City Thunder (37-8, Last Week No. 1). The Thunder went 3-2 in this stretch of games without either Chet Holmgren or Isaiah Hartenstien,

Despite sitting in second place in the Western Conference and boasting a haul of future draft picks, the Houston Rockets don't seem like they will

The Houston Rockets defeated the Atlanta Hawks last night, 100-96. The win comes on the second half of a back-to-back, as the Rockets defeated the Boston Celtics in TD Garden the previous night. This win at State Farm Arena was yet another test, as Houston has built a legitimate resume this season.

Alexander's second 50-point game of the season wasn't enough to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder in their 116-109 loss to the Golden

Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. Josue got his start as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com. He grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media, where he is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.

HOUSTON — "That was my first game-winner! I feel like Kobe," said 21-year-old Amen Thompson in a quote circulating among Houston sports fans. During Monday night's game against the Celtics, Thompson scored a career-high 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting. The game itself had a playoff atmosphere for several reasons.

As of Sunday night, the Rockets are sixth in the league in net rating at +6.1. Their defense is third in the league with a defensive rating of 107.3. But the offense has now crept all the way up to eleventh league-wide with an offensive rating of 113.4. Houston is inching closer to having both a top 10 defense and offense.

A week before the NBA's trade deadline, USA TODAY Sports looks at where teams stand and their chances of winning the title:

The Boston Celtics learned the hard way on Monday. The Celtics and Rockets battled in a hard-fought game at Boston's TD Garden. In the end, Thompson sunk the Celtics with a last-second bucket to secure a 114-112 Rockets win.

Utah now continues its road trip against the best in the west, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"Despite climbing the West ranks and possessing tons of valuable assets to use in a deal, the Houston Rockets will not make a significant trade. That's been general manager Rafael