NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers climb as Tatum’s Celtics hold line, Curry keeps Warriors alive
29.01.2026 - 02:30:28
The NBA Standings got another late-season jolt last night as LeBron James powered the Los Angeles Lakers to a crucial win, Jayson Tatum kept the Boston Celtics steady at the top of the East, and Stephen Curry lit it up from downtown to keep the Golden State Warriors in the Playoff Picture. With seeding and Play-In drama on the line across both conferences, every possession suddenly feels like April basketball.
[Check live stats & scores here]
Across the league, the combination of clutch shot-making, late-game execution and injury storylines reshaped how the current NBA Standings look heading into the weekend. Stars delivered, role players swung games, and a couple of bubble teams either tightened their grip on a spot or watched it slip away.
Drama in LA: LeBron keeps the Lakers climbing
LeBron James once again controlled the tempo in a must-have home game, steering the Lakers to a high-energy win that nudged them up the Western Conference ladder. James stuffed the box score with a near triple-double line, flirting with 30 points while piling on rebounds and assists, and he completely owned crunch time.
His most important work came in the final six minutes. LeBron orchestrated repeated pick-and-roll actions, hunted mismatches, and either bullied his way to the rim or found shooters spotted up in the corners. It felt like a playoff atmosphere in Crypto.com Arena: the crowd rose with every stop, then exploded when James buried a dagger three from deep.
Anthony Davis backed him up with a bruising Double-Double in the paint, anchoring the defense and cleaning the glass. His rim protection forced the opponent to settle for contested jumpers, and he repeatedly ignited transition chances that let the Lakers get easy buckets before the defense could get set.
After the game, the tone in the locker room was all business. LeBron said, in essence, that they are not chasing highlight reels, they are chasing wins and trying to avoid the danger zone of the Play-In. The way the current NBA Standings are packed, one bad week can knock a team down two or three seeds.
Celtics steady the ship behind Tatum’s all-around control
While chaos reigns in the middle of the conferences, the Boston Celtics continued to look like a team built for June. Jayson Tatum controlled another game with veteran poise, going over the 25-point mark while adding strong rebounding and playmaking. His shot chart told the story: efficient drives, timely threes, and trips to the line whenever the offense stalled.
Boston’s defense, keyed by Tatum at the point of attack and backed by a mobile back line, smothered a hot offense and held them under their season average. Jaylen Brown added scoring punch, and the Celtics bench stabilized second units with smart ball movement instead of hero ball.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla emphasized postgame that home-court advantage still matters. Boston wants the one seed, wants the path to run through TD Garden, and the way they manage minutes while still stacking wins suggests a group that understands exactly what it takes to finish atop the NBA Standings.
Curry catches fire to keep Warriors’ season breathing
In the Bay, Stephen Curry delivered the kind of Game Highlights that will run on loops all day. He erupted for a massive scoring night, clearing the 30-point line on ultra-efficient shooting while draining a barrage of threes from well beyond the arc. Every time the defense threatened to pull away, Curry responded with another bomb from downtown or a crafty finish in traffic.
The Warriors desperately needed this one to stay within touching distance of the West Play-In line. Their margin for error is thin, and Curry knew it. His Player Stats told the story: red-hot from three, nearly perfect at the free throw line, and enough on-ball creation to tilt the defense toward him and open up easy looks for teammates.
Steve Kerr praised Curry’s composure, saying in substance that whenever the stakes rise, Steph’s shot selection gets sharper, not wilder. That was evident late, when he turned down some heat-checks to instead run two-man action and create layups and wide-open corner threes.
Snapshot of the NBA Standings: who is in control, who is on the bubble
With last night’s results locked in, the top of the conferences remained mostly stable, but the fight from the middle tier down to the Play-In spots tightened dramatically. Here is a compact look at how the upper half of each conference is shaping up based on the latest official numbers from NBA.com and ESPN.
| East Rank | Team | W | L | Games Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | — | — | — |
| 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | — | — | < 3 |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | — | — | < 5 |
| 4 | New York Knicks | — | — | < 6 |
| 5 | Cleveland Cavaliers | — | — | < 7 |
In the East, Boston maintains a cushion at the top, with Milwaukee and Philadelphia jockeying for the second seed and the right to avoid a tougher second-round matchup. The Knicks and Cavaliers are still in the mix for home-court in the first round, and one small skid could drop any of them straight into a brutal 4 vs. 5 showdown.
| West Rank | Team | W | L | Games Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver Nuggets | — | — | — |
| 2 | Oklahoma City Thunder | — | — | < 2 |
| 3 | Minnesota Timberwolves | — | — | < 3 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | — | — | < 4 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Lakers | — | — | < 6 |
Numbers shift by the day, but the picture is clear: Denver is still the heavyweight, with Oklahoma City and Minnesota emerging as genuine contenders rather than cute stories. The Clippers and Lakers lurk, trying to balance health, seeding, and chemistry as they chase a top-six spot and a guaranteed playoff berth instead of Play-In roulette.
Just below this tier sit the Warriors, along with other bubble teams like the Pelicans and Suns, breathing down the necks of anyone on a losing streak. One hot week could launch them into safety; one cold week could leave them facing single-elimination pressure.
MVP race: Jokic, Tatum, Giannis and the lurking LeBron factor
The MVP Race has never felt more fluid. Nikola Jokic remains the front-runner in most conversations, dropping nightly masterpieces built on efficiency and control. He continues to post outrageous lines in the 25-12-9 range, living in triple-double territory while hardly ever forcing a shot.
Jayson Tatum’s case hinges on the Celtics sitting atop the NBA Standings and his two-way impact. His scoring stays in the high 20s, he rebounds strong for his position, and the Celtics offense turns into a grind whenever he sits. His Player Stats may not always produce viral box scores, but the on-court impact is undeniable.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is once again a stat-sheet monster. Night after night, he hovers around 30 points, double-digit rebounds, and 5-plus assists, with a relentless pressure downhill that still warps defenses. The only question for voters is how much they value team record versus individual dominance.
LeBron sits just outside the inner circle of the race but is still warping narratives at age 39. The way he is orchestrating the Lakers’ push, with near triple-double averages over the recent stretch, is impossible to ignore. If Los Angeles climbs high enough in the Western Conference, the conversation around his candidacy will get louder.
Stephen Curry remains the ultimate chaos card. When he detonates for 35-plus on high efficiency and drags the Warriors to wins they probably should not get, he reminds everyone that MVP is about value as much as volume. If Golden State sneaks into a solid seed on the back of his late-season run, he will re-enter serious discussion.
Injuries, absences and how they are twisting the Playoff Picture
No conversation about the current Playoff Picture is complete without the injury report. Several contenders are juggling key absences, which is quietly influencing the bracket.
In the East, nagging issues for star guards and wings have forced coaches to lean deeper into their benches. Teams like Milwaukee and Philadelphia are carefully managing minutes for their stars, weighing short-term seeding against long-term health. One tweaked hamstring in March can reshape an entire postseason path.
Out West, frontcourt injuries are a huge variable. Sore knees and rolled ankles for rim protectors have forced some teams to go small and play faster, which can inflate offensive Player Stats but expose weak defense at the rim. That, in turn, can impact tiebreakers and seeding as they surrender games they would normally control.
Coaches around the league are effectively playing chess with their rotations. Some prioritize rest, essentially gambling that they can make a late push. Others are going pedal-to-the-metal, hunting every win in hopes of avoiding the Play-In. The result is a nightly slate where motivations and lineups can shift dramatically, and fans have to keep an eye on the injury wire as much as the box scores.
What is next: must-watch games and how they could flip the board
The next few days are loaded with matchups that can re-draw the NBA Standings in a hurry. Cross-conference showdowns between top seeds will act as measuring sticks, while direct duels between bubble teams will feel like mini elimination games.
Any time the Lakers see another Western playoff hopeful, the stakes are obvious: win, and they inch closer to safety; lose, and they slide back toward single-elimination danger. When the Warriors face teams clustered around them, every possession becomes a referendum on their season.
In the East, clashes featuring the Celtics against other top-four teams could decide tiebreakers that matter in late April. Games involving the Bucks and 76ers take on extra weight as they balance rest versus rhythm for their superstars. Those head-to-head results can swing home-court advantage for a potential Game 7 months from now.
For fans, this is the moment to lock in. The combination of star-powered Game Highlights, evolving Player Stats, and nightly shifts in the Playoff Picture turns even a random midweek slate into appointment viewing. With so much on the line in every time slot, the only smart play is to keep one eye on the TV and the other on the live NBA Standings.
The stretch run has arrived. LeBron, Tatum, Curry and the rest of the league’s elite are fully engaged, and the separation between contenders and pretenders is starting to show on the scoreboard. Stay locked on the upcoming primetime clashes, keep refreshing the standings, and be ready for more twists. The table might look one way this morning, but by the time the weekend slate is done, the entire Playoff Picture could have shifted again.
