Eastern Conference

The state of New York enjoyed a pretty exciting week of sports as they made Super Bowl and claimed the headlines throughout the week thanks to new NBA sensation Jeremy Lin.

The New York Knicks were previously on a disastrous run of form but Lin's energy and contribution has propelled them to a five-game winning streak for an overall record of 13-15. Amongst the victims were the Los Angeles Lakers, with Lin outshining future Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant for a game and career-high 38 points.

At the close of the week, the Chicago Bulls tightened their grasp of the top spot in the league on the back of a similar five-game winning run. Derrick Rose has been in and out of the team but the miser-like defense of the Bulls continues to be their most valuable asset.

The Philadelphia 76ers with a 19-9 record as at Saturday continue to edge ahead of the Atlanta Hawks who boast a record of 18-9. The Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic had a pretty low-profiled week, but both ended with winning their last game to hold respective records of 20-7 and 17-11.

The poor run of form for the Charlotte Bobcats unfortunately remained a constant as their poor run of results was extended to 14 games in the rut while the New Jersey Nets are staring down the barrel of a six-game slump.

Back with a bang

Western Conference

SAN Antonio Spurs have rocketed towards the conference leaders thanks to claiming seven consecutive victories. With a 19-9 record they are looking pretty dangerous at the moment and they are boosted by the return of Manu Ginobli who played a key role in their comfortable win over the Nets to end the week.

The Oklahoma City Thunder with a 21-6 record entering the week continue to signal their intentions for the conference title. Their record is second only to that of the Bulls and with the Los Angeles Clippers who hold a 17-8 record being their closest rivals a fair distance behind it would take a serious dip in form to see them give up the top spot.

The Clippers continue to excite and thrill their supporters with everyone chipping in to secure a favourable play-off spot. Chris Paul was the most recent hero as his fade away with 3.2 seconds remaining ensured victory for the Clippers against the 76ers before contributing 14 assists as they hammered the Bobcats 111-86 on Saturday night.

The Denver Nuggets who are now in seventh place with a 16-12 record secured a most needed win over the Indiana Pacers to end the week. Point guard Ty Lawson-led all scorers with 27 points as the Nuggets try to change their fortunes; the win included, the Nuggets' record over the last 10 games is 3-7.

The Dallas Mavericks have slowly, but surely put in the hours to lift their conference standings to fourth place. Still not where they would have expected to be at this stage, but a three-game winning streak to close the week is certainly a great foundation to build on.

The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Utah Jazz have stuttered in their quest to sneak into play-off contention as they both lost three consecutive games to end the week.

However, with many of the teams being as inconsistent as they are, both their fortunes could still change for the better.

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