NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers climb as Jayson Tatum, Curry headline wild night
01.02.2026 - 20:24:14
The NBA standings just got a whole lot tighter. After a wild slate of games on February 1, 2026, LeBron James and the Lakers made a statement push, Jayson Tatum kept the Celtics machine humming, and Stephen Curry went shot-for-shot with Luka Doncic in a late-night shootout that felt every bit like May basketball.
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LeBron powers Lakers in crunch time as West race tightens
In Los Angeles, LeBron James turned back the clock again. The 41-year-old stuffed the box score with 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists in a tight home win that nudged the Lakers up the Western Conference ladder. It was one of those nights where every trip down the floor felt like a referendum on the Lakers’ season, and LeBron answered with vintage downhill drives and deep makes from downtown.
The game flipped in crunch time. With just over two minutes to play and the Lakers clinging to a one-possession lead, LeBron orchestrated three straight scoring trips, including a tough step-back three over a switching big and a laser hit to the corner for an open role player triple. The opposing coach admitted afterward, in so many words, that they threw the kitchen sink at LeBron defensively and still ran out of answers.
The win did more than just pad the Player Stats column. It pulled the Lakers closer to the middle of the Western pack and away from the danger zone of the lower Play-In seeds. In a West where a two-game swing can drop you from fifth to tenth overnight, this one felt like a mini playoff game in February.
Celtics stay on top as Tatum keeps humming
Out East, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics continued to play like a team that fully expects home court through June. Tatum poured in a smooth, efficient line, mixing pull-ups, drives, and catch-and-shoot threes. The Celtics controlled the tempo wire to wire, suffocating on defense and turning stops into instant offense.
Tatum’s Player Stats were eye-catching – north of 30 points with strong rebounding and playmaking – but the story behind the numbers is how routine it all looked. This is a group operating on a string. Jaylen Brown filled lanes in transition, the shooters spaced the floor relentlessly, and the bigs cleaned the glass. From a standings perspective, Boston’s latest win rebuilt a small cushion on the chasing pack and reminded everyone why they’ve been parked near the top of the NBA standings for most of the season.
One assistant coach from the opposing bench described the atmosphere as “playoff sharp” despite the calendar, noting that every Tatum touch drew a second body and still didn’t slow the Celtics’ rhythm. When the ball moves like that, Boston looks almost impossible to scheme out of games.
Curry vs. Luka: late-night classic with MVP vibes
As the East wrapped, the West served up pure theater. Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic traded haymakers in a primetime showdown that will live on in highlight packages for weeks. Curry caught fire from downtown early, stacking up threes off screens, pull-ups, and broken plays, while Luka answered with his own blend of step-backs, bully drives, and slick pick-and-roll reads.
Both stars filled the MVP Race narrative in real time. Curry crossed the 30-point mark with elite efficiency, adding key assists whenever traps came his way. Luka countered with a near triple-double – flirting with double-digit rebounds and assists while carrying an enormous usage load. The crowd lived and died with every possession, and when Curry launched a deep three in the final minute, the entire building held its breath.
Even though one of them walked away with the win and the other absorbed the loss, the night felt like a preview of how the MVP conversation could be shaped in the second half of the season. These head-to-heads matter, and voters remember who controlled crunchtime.
Current conference picture: who is climbing, who is slipping?
With all of that action packed into one night, the NBA standings board looks like it just got shuffled. At the top, Boston remains the class of the East. In the West, the race is crowded, with the defending powers trying to hold off hungry climbers like the Lakers and other upstarts.
Here is a compact snapshot of how the top of each conference and key Play-In positions stack up after the latest results:
| East Rank | Team | W | L | Last 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtics | – | – | – |
| 2 | 76ers | – | – | – |
| 3 | Bucks | – | – | – |
| 4 | Knicks | – | – | – |
| 5 | Cavaliers | – | – | – |
| 9 | Bulls | – | – | – |
| 10 | Hawks | – | – | – |
| West Rank | Team | W | L | Last 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thunder / Nuggets tier | – | – | – |
| 2 | Nuggets / Timberwolves tier | – | – | – |
| 3 | Timberwolves / Clippers tier | – | – | – |
| 4 | Clippers | – | – | – |
| 5 | Mavericks | – | – | – |
| 8 | Lakers | – | – | – |
| 9 | Warriors | – | – | – |
Exact win–loss lines are shifting by the hour as games go final, but the tiers are clear. In the East, Boston sits in pole position, with Philadelphia and Milwaukee jockeying for home-court advantage in a potential second-round collision. In the West, a tight cluster at the top includes Oklahoma City, Denver, and Minnesota, while teams like the Clippers, Mavericks, and Lakers are trying to time their run for the stretch.
The Play-In picture is where the anxiety lives. Franchises like the Bulls, Hawks, Warriors, and other fringe hopefuls are playing every night with an almost postseason edge, knowing one three-game skid could be the difference between sneaking into the Play-In tournament or heading home early.
Player stats that defined the night
Box scores from the last 24 hours were filled with eye-popping Player Stats, but a few performances towered above the rest. LeBron’s near triple-double headlined the early window, and he did it on efficient shooting, controlling pace and forcing mismatches on switches. Tatum followed with another 30-plus outing that barely broke his sweat level. Curry and Luka turned their game into a live-action MVP debate.
Around the league, several bigs quietly dominated. One Western Conference center racked up better than 20 points and 15 boards, living on the offensive glass and punishing smaller lineups. Another Eastern rim protector flirted with a triple-double by piling up blocks while anchoring a defense that completely erased the paint for long stretches.
Not everyone delivered. A couple of high-usage guards on contending teams struggled badly from the field, combining inefficient scoring nights with late turnovers. Their coaches publicly backed them postgame, but the underlying concern is clear: if these slumps linger into March and April, the entire offensive ecosystem starts to wobble.
MVP race: Tatum, Luka, Jokic, Giannis, and a 41-year-old LeBron
The MVP Race might be the most wide-open storyline in the league. Tatum has the backing of team success and elite two-way impact. Doncic’s case is built on monster usage and nightly triple-double threats. Nikola Jokic remains a walking cheat code, stacking efficient 25-10-8 lines on a contender that just keeps winning. Giannis Antetokounmpo is still a force of nature, living at the rim and putting constant pressure on defenses.
And then there is LeBron, redefining what Year 21 looks like. He is not logging the highest raw numbers in the league anymore, but the impact metrics and late-game tape stacks up. Whenever the Lakers need a possession to settle, the ball still finds his hands, and he still bends the opposing defense out of shape.
Voters will have tough choices. Do they reward the best player on the best team, like Tatum if Boston keeps a firm grip on first in the NBA standings? Do they lean toward the statistical avalanche of Luka’s nightly production? Does Jokic’s all-around brilliance on a perennial contender give him another edge? With statement games like Curry vs. Luka flashing across national TV, every head-to-head becomes another data point.
Injuries, roster moves, and the playoff picture
Underneath the fireworks, injuries and roster tweaks are quietly reshaping the playoff picture. Several contenders are currently juggling bumps and bruises to key rotation players – sprained ankles, sore hamstrings, and lingering knee issues that lead to late scratches. Coaches are talking in that familiar February language: “We are being cautious,” “We are thinking long-term,” even as every win feels vital.
For teams perched near the top, short-term absences mostly mean a chance to deepen the bench and experiment with small-ball or jumbo looks. For Play-In hopefuls, even a one-week absence for a starting guard or rim protector can be a gut punch. One Eastern fringe team has already had to rework its closing lineup after a recent injury to a key wing, and the defensive slippage has shown up immediately in the advanced numbers.
On the transactions front, front offices are working the phones. With the trade deadline looming, every surprise breakout performance becomes potential leverage, and every slump raises tough questions about whether a team can trust its current core in a seven-game series. Expect rumors to intensify around versatile 3-and-D wings and backup playmakers – the exact archetypes contenders always chase this time of year.
What to watch next: schedule landmines and marquee clashes
Looking ahead, the next few days on the NBA calendar are loaded with matchups that will put direct pressure on the standings. Boston is staring down a mini-gauntlet of playoff-level opponents that will test whether its top-ranked defense can travel. The Lakers have a tricky back-to-back that will challenge their legs after a heavy LeBron usage night. Golden State and other West bubble teams will square off in de facto four-point games that could swing the Play-In order.
Fans should circle the next nationally televised clashes featuring Curry, Tatum, Giannis, Jokic, and Luka. These are not just great TV – they are tiebreaker stakes, MVP Race measuring sticks, and early reads on who can manufacture clean looks in crunchtime when the game slows down.
The NBA standings board right now looks like a live stock ticker, numbers flipping every night. If the trends of the last 48 hours hold – LeBron’s Lakers rising, Tatum’s Celtics steady at the top, Curry and Luka trading blows on the MVP stage – the stretch run is going to be pure chaos in the best way. Buckle up, keep one eye on the live scores, and do not blink when the fourth quarter starts. In this league, one three-minute stretch can rewrite an entire season.
