AJ Neuharth-Keusch

USA TODAY Sports

USA TODAY Sports' NBA power rankings for Week 6 of the 2016-17 season (through games played on Saturday, Dec. 10).

► NBA season has been full of surprises so far

► MVP race: Westbrook leads, Harden close behind

► ROY race: Sixers' rookies ahead of the rest

TEAM (RECORD) MOVEMENT

1. Golden State Warriors (20-4) -

Saturday night's 21-point loss to the Grizzlies wasn't enough to knock the Warriors out of the No. 1 spot, especially after a week headlined by wins over the Pacers (142-106), Clippers (115-98) and Jazz (106-99).

2. San Antonio Spurs (19-5) -

Though the Spurs' 13-game road winning streak came to an end Thursday after a four-point loss to the Bulls, they're undoubtedly amongst the NBA's elite. Again.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers (17-5) +1

LeBron James said his Cavs needed to "get out of the honeymoon stage" after three straight losses to the Bucks, Clippers and Bulls, and that's exactly what they did this week with wins over Toronto, New York, Miami and Charlotte.

4. Toronto Raptors (16-7) +1

The Raptors fell to Cleveland on Monday for the third time this season, but have been the clear-cut second-best team in the East through the first quarter of 2016-17.

5. Houston Rockets (17-7) +1

Riding a six-game winning streak, early signs indicate that this James Harden-led squad is no fluke. “I’ve never been on a team like this before,” veteran forward Ryan Anderson recently told NBA.com. “I gotta say it’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had playing basketball.”

6. Los Angeles Clippers (17-7) -3

After Sunday's nine-point loss to the Pacers and Wednesday's 17-point beatdown at the hands of the Warriors, the Clippers made it clear that they're still a ways away from being a championship caliber team.

7. Memphis Grizzlies (17-8) +4

Common knowledge suggested that the Grizzlies were going to take a significant step back after Mike Conley went down with a back injury in late November. Instead, the Grizzlies have gone 6-1 without their star point guard on the floor, and after holding the Warriors to a season-low 89 points on Saturday, it's looking like common knowledge was wrong.

T-8. Oklahoma City Thunder (14-9) -1

Riding the reign of MVP frontrunner Russell Westbrook, the Thunder have won six of their last seven games, with their lone loss coming against Houston on Friday.

T-8. Utah Jazz (15-10) +1

Despite the fact that starters George Hill and Derrick Favors have each played in just 11 of Utah's 25 games with nagging injuries, the Jazz are doing more than simply staying afloat. They're proving to be a legitimate contender for the West's fourth or fifth seed.

10. Charlotte Hornets (14-10) +2

Don't look now, but the Hornets are back near the top of the Eastern Conference standings after winning three of their four games this week against Dallas, Detroit and Orlando.

Gallery: Week 6 power rankings

11. Boston Celtics (13-10) -3

Boston's lone win of the week came on Wednesday against the Magic, but was sandwiched between losses to the Rockets and Raptors.

12. Chicago Bulls (13-10) -2

The Bulls bounced back from a three straight losses to Dallas, Portland and Detroit with close wins at home over San Antonio and Miami.

13. New York Knicks (13-10) +2

Though the week was overshadowed by Wednesday's brutal 32-point loss to the Cavaliers on the hallowed grounds of Madison Square Garden, the Knicks have won five of their last six games and are right in the thick of things in the East's playoff picture.

14. Detroit Pistons (13-12) -

Two losses (Orlando and Charlotte), two wins (Chicago and Minnesota), yet another week of an underperforming Detroit team in desperate need of a couple statement victories.

15. Milwaukee Bucks (11-11) -2

The Bucks have come back down to earth a bit after going on a four-game winning streak. They lost three of four games this week to San Antonio, Atlanta and Washington in closely-fought battles.

16. Atlanta Hawks (12-12) +1

There was a collective sigh of relief throughout A-Town this week, as the Hawks recovered from their seven-game skid with wins over Miami and Milwaukee.

17. Indiana Pacers (12-12) +2

The Pacers were dismantled by the Warriors (142-106) on Monday and fell to the lowly Mavericks on Friday, but managed to grab wins from Phoenix and Portland on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.

18. Portland Trail Blazers (12-13) -2

The Blazers' offense is still firing on all cylinders (107.2 offensive rating; eighth in NBA) behind stellar play from a star-studded backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, but the defensive side of the floor (109.5 defensive rating; 29th in NBA) has been a different story entirely.

19. Washington Wizards (9-13) +5

The Wizards are still nowhere near where they'd like to be, but with a 3-1 week in the books headlined by Saturday's late-game comeback win over Milwaukee, they're starting to take some steps in the right direction.

20. Los Angeles Lakers (10-15) -2

The expected return of guards D'Angelo Russell and Nick Young should help kickstart a Lakers team that's been limping along to a five-game losing streak.

Gallery: NBA photo of the day

21. Sacramento Kings (8-15) +1

Kings' Matt Barnes and DeMarcus Cousins made headlines this week, but for all the wrong reasons.

22. Orlando Magic (10-15) +3

The Magic started off the week strong with road wins over Detroit and Washington, but followed it up with three straight losses to Boston, Charlotte and Denver.

23. Denver Nuggets (9-15) -

Playing the bulk of a six-game road trip, the Nuggets went 2-2 this week, with wins over Philadelphia and Orlando and losses to Brooklyn and Washington.

24. New Orleans Pelicans (7-17) -4

Not only did the Pelicans lose all four of this week's games, but they fell to the 76ers at home on Thursday — a loss that snapped Philadelphia's 23-game road losing streak.

25. Minnesota Timberwolves (6-17) +1

Don't read too much into the Timberwolves' one-spot shift, as it's more a result of Miami's five-spot drop than a testament to Minnesota's on-court performance.

26. Miami Heat (7-17) -5

Hindered by injuries to Justise Winslow, Dion Waiters, Josh Richardson and James Johnson, the Heat lost all four of their games this week, which pushed their losing streak to five.

27. Phoenix Suns (7-16) -

The Suns suffered losses to Utah and Indiana this week, but pulled off a four-point road win against the Lakers on Friday.

28. Brooklyn Nets (6-16) -

The most positive takeaway from this already-lost Nets season: the development of Sean Kilpatrick, a 26-year-old undrafted shooting guard who is averaging 16.1 points and 4.6 rebounds.

29. Philadelphia 76ers (5-18) +1

The Sixers were 1-21 at this point last season, so ... there's always that.

30. Dallas Mavericks (5-18) -1

The Mavericks are on pace to miss the playoffs for just the second time since the 1999-00 season.

List of voters: USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt, Sam Amick, Kevin Spain, AJ Neuharth-Keusch and Michael Singer; Arizona Republic's Paul Coro; The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal's Ronald Tillery; Detroit Free Press' Vince Ellis; Indianapolis Star's Nate Taylor; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Charles Gardner; The (Bergen) Record's Steve Popper; HoopsHype.com's Jorge Sierra and Raul Barrigon; USA TODAY Sports Weekly's Howard Megdal.