THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

GAME OF THE WEEK

LAKERS vs. CLIPPERS

*--* No. Team (Rec) Comment (last week) 1 SAN ANTONIO (23-10) Winning streak reached 13, and Robert Horry made 52% of his three-pointers in it. (1) 2 SACRAMENTO (22-8) With Chris Webber still weeks away, distraught teammates are on 18-4 run. (3) 3 LAKERS (21-8) Jackson notes December doldrums, to be followed by January doldrums, etc. (2) 4 INDIANA (25-10) Oops: Supposedly reformed Artest argues with Carlisle, then skips practice. (5) 5 MINNESOTA (21-11) Doing it without Szczerbiak, Olowokandi and Hudson, who just went out again. (4) 6 NEW JERSEY (18-14) Have now won 11 of 14. Kidd says his New Year’s resolution is “No tirades.” (10) 7 NEW ORLEANS (21-13) Jamal Mashburn is still weeks away, but teammates are doing OK without him. (7) 8 DENVER (20-14) With $20 million in cap space coming, Kiki Vandeweghe’s in running for GM of year. (9) 9 DALLAS (19-13) Those days are over (cont.): A year ago on this date, Mavericks were 27-5. (6) 10 DETROIT (21-13) My way or highway: Brown quiets rebels long enough to win four in a row. (12) 11 HOUSTON (18-14) Welcome to the West, pardner: Van Gundy asks why Rockets can’t take next step. (8) 12 UTAH (17-16) Ostertag, who has most tantrums of all the bad players, to be free agent! (13) 13 SEATTLE (16-14) Oops: Dear Ray Allen, sorry about that cheap shot in this space last week. (18) 14 TORONTO (16-15) Rugrats, er, Raptors just went 3-7 while being outrebounded by seven a game. (16) 15 PORTLAND (15-16) GM Nash calls them “mediocre,” meaning players may go in all directions. (11) 16 MEMPHIS (17-17) Light-headed moment on bench raises question: How long will Brown coach? (15) 17 MILWAUKEE (16-16) Looks like time to add rookie Terry Porter to coach-of-year candidates. (19) 18 CLIPPERS (13-16) Gather ye flowers while ye may because from Jan. 30-Feb. 18, ye’ll be away. (17) 19 GOLDEN STATE (14-18) Had to happen: Warriors just went 0-5 and Nick Van Exel has That Look again. (14) 20 BOSTON (17-18) Ainge finally undoing Pitino’s little-guy system, but it’ll be a while. (20) 21 PHILADELPHIA (14-19) Oops: Ayers lets Coleman get away with refusing to come out of a game. (21) 22 NEW YORK (14-20) Oops: Won four in row by 20 a game, then blew 10-point lead over Bulls. (22) 23 MIAMI (14-19) Eddie Jones, pilloried for not being a superstar, looks better with help. (23) 24 PHOENIX (12-21) Johnson wanted Marbury to be playmaker. D’Antoni wants him to be what he is. (24) 25 CLEVELAND (10-23) Guess which No. 13 team in the East is the NBA’s top draw on the road? (25) 26 CHICAGO (10-23) Talking buyout with Jay Williams, whom the Bulls gave up on before he got hurt. (26) 27 WASHINGTON (9-21) Arenas is back after sitting out 14 of 15, during which Wizards went 3-12. (27) 28 ORLANDO (8-26) Hurt vs. Knicks, McGrady goes home early, perhaps practicing for free agency.(28) 29 ATLANTA (10-25) No hurry: Team’s sale still isn’t final so big decisions are still on hold. (29)

*--*

When -- Tonight. Time -- 6:30. TV -- Channels 5, 9.

Story line -- Here’s the latest in the local David vs. Goliath rivalry. By the way, which one is Goliath again?