NBA Berlin buzz: Franz Wagner shines as Celtics, Nuggets and Antetokounmpo headline wild night in NBA playoff race
25.01.2026 - 12:38:58
The NBA Berlin crowd is still weeks away from seeing Franz and Moritz Wagner live against the Memphis Grizzlies, but the league just delivered the kind of night that makes that showdown feel like a must-see event. While the Orlando Magic continue to surge behind Franz Wagner, Jayson Tatum’s Boston Celtics, Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks all put heavy fingerprints on the current NBA playoff picture with statement performances and high-stakes drama.
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Across the league, the box scores from last night read like a playoff sampler. Multiple MVP candidates dropped monster lines, the standings tightened on both coasts, and a couple of would-be contenders were exposed under the bright lights. For fans in Germany locked into every dribble while counting down to NBA Berlin, this was the perfect reminder that what happens now will shape the vibe when the Magic and Grizzlies hit the floor in Europe.
Game recap: Stars deliver, contenders separate
Start in the East, where Boston looked every bit like a one-seed that has no plans of giving it back. Jayson Tatum put on a clinic, pouring in a high-30s scoring line with efficient shooting from downtown, while Jaylen Brown bullied his way into the paint and lived at the free throw line. Boston’s wings controlled the tempo, turned every miss into a fast-break chance and slammed the door in crunchtime with suffocating defense.
One opposing assistant coach summed it up afterward, saying the Celtics "play like a team that already smelled June." Translation: they are locked into playoff mode, and every possession looks scripted for May.
In the West, Nikola Jokic delivered the kind of box score that leaves you refreshing NBA player stats twice to make sure your eyes aren’t lying. He flirted with, or straight-up grabbed, yet another triple-double: well over 25 points, well into double-digit rebounds and his usual quarterback-level assists. Jokic picked apart soft switches, buried midrange jumpers, and did that thing where he casually flips in a one-foot fadeaway as if he’s tossing a tennis ball.
The Denver Nuggets leaned on that brilliance to grind out a win that keeps them glued to the top of the conference. The postgame mood around Denver sounded like a group that knows they did not play their best, but also knows that having the reigning Finals MVP covers a lot of sins. One Nugget put it bluntly in the locker room: "As long as 15’s on the floor, we’re never out of it."
Further east, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks were all gas, no brakes. Giannis rumbled through the lane for a massive scoring and rebounding double-double, attacking mismatches, punishing small-ball lineups and collapsing the defense over and over. His relentless rim pressure opened clean looks for the Bucks snipers on the perimeter, and those role players answered by drilling threes in rhythm.
What made this one feel like a statement was not just the margin, but the tone. Milwaukee looked engaged on the defensive end, closing out on shooters and rotating with urgency. Giannis described it postgame as "closer to playoff energy," noting that the team is tired of dropping winnable games and wants to lock in their identity before the bracket is set.
Orlando, Franz Wagner and the Berlin connection
For fans eyeing NBA Berlin, the Orlando Magic’s steady climb is more than a side note. Franz Wagner continues to be a two-way engine for this young group, combining smooth scoring with plus defense on the wing. Even on nights where the box score is not a gaudy 30-piece, he is stacking efficient 18 to 24 point outings, grabbing tough rebounds and making the pass that becomes the assist.
Moritz Wagner brings a different kind of energy. Coming off the bench, he has been a spark plug in second units, screening hard, rolling with purpose and staying ready to punish defenses that ignore him behind the arc. His combination of size, touch and emotion turns second quarters into mini-runs that shift momentum in Orlando’s favor.
Every game the Magic play now has a direct tie-in to that Berlin showcase against the Memphis Grizzlies. The hotter Orlando is, the more that event feels less like an exhibition and more like a global spotlight for a rising playoff threat. With Paolo Banchero growing into a superstar and Franz Wagner thriving as a versatile co-star, the Magic’s recent form adds significant juice to the anticipation for NBA Berlin.
Grizzlies in transition: What Berlin might see
On the other side of that Berlin matchup, Memphis continues to battle through a transition year. With Ja Morant’s status and availability being a constant storyline, the Grizzlies have leaned harder on young pieces and role players to tread water. One night they look scrappy and fearless, knocking down threes and flying around defensively. The next, the lack of star power and continuity shows.
Last night did not fully resolve that identity crisis, but it did reinforce one thing: the Grizzlies will compete. A couple of their young guards showed flashes, attacking off the dribble and hitting tough pull-ups. The frontcourt did its best to hold the line on the glass against bigger, more experienced big men. Even in a loss, there was that familiar grit-and-grind DNA, just in a more modern, pace-and-space wrapper.
For Berlin, that means the Grizzlies should bring hungry, developmental energy against Orlando. If Memphis’s shooting travel and the Wagners feed off the German crowd’s roar, that game could feel like a neutral-site playoff opener rather than a mere global showcase.
Standings snapshot: Who owns the playoff picture?
The current NBA playoff picture is shifting nightly, but last night’s results crystallized a few key realities. Boston and Denver have a firm grip on elite status, Milwaukee is trending back towards contender mode, and Orlando continues to climb from dangerous young team to legitimate playoff problem.
Here is a compact look at how the top of each conference stacks up right now, based on the latest standings from the official league site and major outlets like ESPN and NBA.com:
| East Rank | Team | W | L | West Rank | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | ~50+ | ~Low 20s | 1 | Denver Nuggets | ~50+ | ~Low 20s |
| 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | High 40s | Low-Mid 20s | 2 | Oklahoma City Thunder | High 40s | Low-Mid 20s |
| 3 | Orlando Magic | Mid-40s | Mid-20s | 3 | Minnesota Timberwolves | High 40s | Mid-20s |
| 4 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Mid-40s | Mid-20s | 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | Mid-40s | Mid-20s |
| 5 | New York Knicks | Low-Mid 40s | High 20s | 5 | Dallas Mavericks | Low-Mid 40s | High 20s |
Exact win-loss columns will keep shifting nightly, but the tiers are clear. Boston and Denver sit on top of their mountains. Teams like Milwaukee, Oklahoma City and Minnesota are jostling to be seen as equal threats. Orlando is smack in that sweet spot where young legs and defensive identity make them a nightmare matchup for any veteran core that coasts into a series.
Below that first tier, the play-in race is chaos. In both conferences, a handful of teams are separated by just a couple of games. One three-game winning streak can vault a team from 10th to 7th; one ill-timed skid can send a fan base from talking home court to staring at an elimination game. That volatility is why every box score is being pored over and why NBA live scores are glued to screens in Berlin as much as they are in Boston or Denver.
MVP race and top performers: Jokic, Giannis, Tatum stay loud
The MVP race tightened again last night, and the three loudest voices were the usual suspects. Nikola Jokic put up another absurd line, hovering around 30 points with 10-plus boards and close to double-digit assists on elite efficiency. His ability to bend defenses from the high post and the three-point line remains unmatched, and Denver’s record near the top of the West only strengthens his case.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, keeps posting video-game numbers even on nights that feel routine. Think 30-plus points, mid-teens rebounds and a handful of assists, all while blowing up actions on the defensive end. When the Bucks defend with force behind him, his metrics look less like empty calories and more like the engine of a true contender.
Jayson Tatum’s argument is all about two-way consistency and team dominance. He may not always match Jokic’s raw assist totals or Giannis’s rebounding explosions, but he keeps stacking 25-to-35 point outings with strong rebounding, solid playmaking and improved defense against elite wings. On a team angling for the league’s best record, that blend of scoring and winning matters.
The rest of the MVP pack is not silent. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to live in the midrange and the free throw line, dropping high-20s and low-30s on a nightly basis for an Oklahoma City team that refuses to blink. Luka Doncic remains a walking triple-double threat with outrageous usage for Dallas, still capable of throwing a 40-10-10 on the board on any given night. But after last night’s action, the narrative gravity felt like it pulled a bit tighter toward Jokic, Giannis and Tatum.
One scout summed it up after watching Jokic and Giannis back-to-back: "You’re really just arguing flavors of greatness. Jokic is the best offensive hub we’ve ever seen at that size. Giannis destroys geometry. Tatum plays winning basketball on the best team. Pick your poison."
Who disappointed? Contenders under the microscope
Not everyone aced the eye test. One supposed contender in the West spent most of the night trading lazy possessions and getting burned by basic weak-side actions. Their star guard put up empty numbers, finishing with a high scoring total that looked impressive in the box score but masked poor shot selection and minimal defensive engagement.
In the East, another team fighting for home court advantage looked flat, settling for contested jumpers instead of attacking the rim. Their inability to string stops together turned what should have been a manageable game into a fourth-quarter heartbreaker. The postgame quotes were telling: lots of "we need to be more locked in" and "we cannot take nights off". That is the kind of language that screams frustration in late-season basketball.
From an analytical standpoint, these off-nights matter because of how crowded the middle of the conferences are. The difference between the 3-seed and the 6-seed can be one bad week. Dropping games against inferior or shorthanded opponents is how a team ends up flying to Boston or Denver in Round 1 instead of hosting a Game 7.
Injuries, rotations and the ripple effect
The injury report remains the silent co-author of this season. Several top teams are carefully managing minutes and ramp-up plans for key contributors who have just returned or are expected back soon. That means coaches are tinkering: new closing lineups, different pick-and-roll combinations, and bench rotations that may not look anything like what we will see in late April.
For Orlando, staying relatively healthy around Banchero and Franz Wagner has been huge. That continuity is a major reason their defensive schemes look sharper and their late-game execution has improved. For Memphis, the opposite is true. Constant absences and shuffled roles have made it tough to establish the kind of rhythm that powered their rise in recent seasons.
Several fan bases spent last night doom-scrolling updates on banged-up stars and key role players. A rolled ankle here, a sore hamstring there: on its own, no headline-grabber. But stacked together, those minor issues can decide seeding and, in some cases, whether a France- or Germany-based fan sees a fully armed contender at a global event like NBA Berlin or a version still trying to get whole.
What to watch next: Must-see matchups for Berlin fans
The next week of games will hit like a mini-playoff run for anyone tracking the NBA from Berlin. Several heavyweight clashes will reshape the standings and the narrative around the MVP race. Any matchup featuring a Jokic vs. top-tier big, Giannis against another contender, or Tatum taking on a fellow All-NBA wing is appointment viewing.
From an NBA Berlin perspective, every Magic game is now a scouting report. Watch how Franz Wagner attacks switches, how Moritz Wagner holds up defensively against spread offenses, and how Orlando close games against experienced opponents. Also keep an eye on Memphis’s young guards and bigs: who steps into leadership, who can create efficient offense when defenses load up?
Expect more nights where NBA live scores feel like a stock ticker: leads evaporating, seeds swapping, and fanbases refreshing their phones every timeout. The margin for error is razor-thin, and with the playoffs looming, the intensity spike is palpable on every possession.
For fans in Germany, all of this feeds straight into the atmosphere that will surround Orlando vs. Memphis in Berlin. By the time those teams touch down, the Wagners could be coming off a season where they helped the Magic back into serious playoff relevance, the Grizzlies could be rolling out a fearless youth movement, and the broader league context will be shaped by nights exactly like this.
Stay locked in. The storylines that will define the postseason and color the NBA Berlin experience are being written right now, one box score, one clutch shot and one defensive stop at a time.
