Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded his second 50-point outing in only four games in a rare 116-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

The Wizards have gone bare bones and are depending on lottery luck to save them. Meanwhile, the Raptors, who have now won five straight, are approaching their own rebuild a little differently. Which track will bear the most fruit?

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

Carlson ascended from spending time with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate. Then, he signed a 10-day contract before Carlson cracked Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault’s rotation. After team practice on Saturday, Jaylin Williams opened up about seeing the rookie’s growth over the past few weeks.

Upon hearing trash talking from Washington’s bench, Kevin Durant was quick to fire back and shut down the trash talk with a sharp retort.

Though the strength of schedule over this span hasn’t necessarily been impressive, Phoenix has been better recently, winning nine of its last 13 games. So, as the team continues its pursuit of Jimmy Butler, the Suns (24-22) are moving their way up the standings.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander produced a dazzling performance as the Oklahoma City Thunder avenged last week's defeat ... There were also wins for the Phoenix Suns over the Washington Wizards, the Indiana Pacers beat the Detroit Pistons and the Los Angeles ...

For the second year in a row, OKC Thunder's sophomore guard has been named to the NBA's Rising Stars game during All-Star weekend.

The Wizards bring their league-low six wins into Dallas. Minus Luka Doncic, Dallas sits in ninth in the Western Conference. The Mavericks lost Saturday to the Celtics in Dallas, 122-107, but knocked off the Thunder in Oklahoma City, 121-115, this past Thursday.

During his time suiting up for the Thunder, Butler wore only jersey No. 14 and put up 6.2 points and 1.3 assists per game.

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 28 points, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-115 on Thursday night. P.J.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 12: Isaiah Hartenstein #55 of the Oklahoma City Thunder in action against ... [+] the Washington Wizards during the first half at Capital One Arena on January 12 ...