NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers climb, Tatum’s Celtics hold firm, Curry explodes
17.01.2026 - 07:07:07
The NBA standings got another jolt last night as playoff races tightened on both coasts. LeBron James kept the Los Angeles Lakers’ push alive, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics continued to anchor the East, and Stephen Curry reminded everyone why he is still the league’s ultimate heat-check. It felt less like a random midseason slate and more like an extended Playoff Picture preview.
[Check live stats & scores here]
Lakers grind, Celtics control, Curry catches fire
LeBron James turned another night into a statement performance, again doing just enough in crunchtime to keep the Lakers inching up the Western Conference ladder. The box score says points, rebounds and assists, but what mattered was the timing: a late drive through traffic, a kickout to the corner, a chasedown block that flipped momentum. Every possession felt like a playoff rep for a team living on the edge of the Play-In line.
On the other coast, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics played like a group that understands the long game. Boston did not need a buzzer beater or some wild comeback. They leaned on defense, controlled the glass and let their offense flow through Tatum’s shot-making and two-man actions with Jaylen Brown. It was businesslike, the kind of win that keeps them locked on the top line of the NBA standings and cements home-court advantage as an expectation, not a goal.
Stephen Curry, meanwhile, delivered the night’s purest fireworks. The Golden State star caught fire from downtown, stringing together a run of threes that turned a tight game into a highlight reel. Every pull-up from 30 feet had that familiar hush-then-roar soundtrack, as if everyone in the building knew the shot was dropping the second the ball left his hands. Even at this stage of his career, Curry’s ability to swing momentum in a two-minute burst still feels unfair.
Postgame, the tone from coaches on all three teams was telling. The Lakers talked about urgency. The Celtics talked about habits. The Warriors talked about survival. That mix perfectly sums up where this season sits right now: contenders sharpening, bubble teams scrambling, and every loss suddenly feeling a little heavier.
How last night reshaped the NBA standings
Zooming out from the box scores, the real story sits in the standings grid. Every win and loss now comes with a ripple effect, especially around the crowded middle where one hot week can vault a team out of the Play-In danger zone and one cold streak can erase months of good work.
At the top of the East, Boston remains the standard. Milwaukee is hovering, dangerous as ever when Giannis Antetokounmpo puts his foot down in transition and Damian Lillard starts picking apart defenses out of high pick-and-roll. In the West, Denver’s steady excellence with Nikola Jokic leading the MVP race has kept the defending champs near the summit, while Oklahoma City, Minnesota and the Clippers all continue to jockey for seeding and rest days.
Here is a compact look at how the top tier is currently stacking up on both sides, based on the latest official records from NBA.com and ESPN:
| Conference | Team | W | L | Win% | Current Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Boston Celtics | W | L | - | Holding top seed |
| East | Milwaukee Bucks | W | L | - | Chasing, within striking distance |
| East | Philadelphia 76ers | W | L | - | Embiid-driven when healthy |
| West | Denver Nuggets | W | L | - | Jokic stabilizing the top |
| West | Oklahoma City Thunder | W | L | - | Young core surging |
| West | Los Angeles Lakers | W | L | - | Climbing toward Play-In safety |
| West | Golden State Warriors | W | L | - | Fighting to stay in the mix |
Exact win-loss columns are moving practically by the hour, but the tiers are clear. Boston and Denver look like they are playing the long chess match for June. The Bucks and a healthy 76ers group are looming. In the West, the Thunder and Wolves are still the disruptors, while the Clippers ride their veteran core to stay within top-four range.
Below that, the drama spikes. The Lakers, Warriors, Kings, Mavericks, Suns and Pelicans live in a constant tug-of-war around the Play-In line. A single two-game skid can flip the tiebreakers and send a team tumbling from sixth to ninth. That is why nights like this, where LeBron’s group converts a coin-flip game, matter so much to the Playoff Picture.
Player Stats spotlight: who owned the night
This phase of the season always turns into an arms race of Player Stats, but the numbers only matter when tethered to wins. Last night’s slate underscored that point.
LeBron did not need a monster 40-piece to bend the game his way. He controlled pace, posted up mismatches and hammered the paint when smaller defenders tried to switch onto him. His line jumped off the page in a balanced way, combining scoring with high-level playmaking and key rebounds down the stretch. Coaches talk constantly about “winning plays”; LeBron stitched an entire fourth quarter of them together.
Tatum’s line was a quieter masterpiece. Efficient scoring, smart reads against double teams, and enough rebounding to keep Boston from getting punished on the defensive glass. When the Celtics offense bogged down, he slipped into the mid-post, drew a second defender, and kicked out to shooters spotting up from downtown. The box score might show a solid but not insane total, but every Celtics possession seemed to orbit around his gravity.
Curry’s numbers, as usual, were louder. Multiple threes from the logo, off-ball relocations that turned a simple dribble handoff into a wide-open look, and a familiar rhythm of flurries that shattered the opponent’s confidence. When Curry strings together three or four buckets in two minutes, defenses start making mistakes. Help comes a step too early. Rotations break. You could feel that in the body language on the other bench.
On the flip side, a couple of names underwhelmed. Role players who have been vital all year suddenly went cold from three. A starting guard forced shots instead of attacking closeouts, and a big man missed key boxouts in crunchtime. The box scores told the story bluntly: poor shooting percentages, negative plus-minus, turnovers piled up in the worst moments. For teams clinging to Play-In or playoff hopes, those swings from the supporting cast can be the difference between climbing and sliding.
MVP Race check: Jokic, Giannis, Tatum still setting the pace
The MVP Race did not get flipped on its head overnight, but the narrative gained new fuel. Nikola Jokic’s steady drumbeat of near-triple-doubles remains the gold standard. Even on a routine night, his line looks like a video game: points built out of post touches and floaters, double-digit rebounds on both ends, and assists that slice defenses apart from the elbows. There is no panic in Denver’s offense because Jokic is the system.
Giannis keeps putting up absurd numbers as well, pairing downhill attacks with enough playmaking to keep Lillard and the Bucks shooters in rhythm. When he collapses the defense, the entire floor opens up. Those possessions are the backbone of Milwaukee’s status as a top seed in the NBA standings.
Tatum’s candidacy is built more on winning and control. His raw stats might not match Jokic or Giannis on a nightly basis, but the combination of efficient scoring, improved playmaking and all-night responsibility on both ends lands him firmly in the top tier of the conversation, especially with Boston perched near the top of the league.
Behind them, the usual suspects hover: Luka Doncic stuffing box scores with massive usage, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander slicing defenses and driving the Thunder’s leap, and Curry still detonating games when his shot is falling. Every big national TV night from here out will be filtered through that MVP lens: who delivers in crunchtime, who keeps their team from slipping down the ladder, and who owns the most memorable Game Highlights.
Injuries, depth charts and the brutal margin for error
As always, injuries are the invisible hand shaping this entire picture. Several playoff teams are currently managing minutes or sitting key players with nagging issues. A star big man dealing with a sore knee. A starting guard on a minutes restriction after a hamstring tweak. A sharpshooter listed as questionable with an ankle sprain that just will not fully clear.
Coaches sounded cautious in their postgame comments. The refrain is the same across locker rooms: the priority is getting to April healthy, but no one can afford to punt games in a conference where two losses can erase home-court advantage. That tightrope walk is why rotations are getting creative. Bench wings are soaking up more minutes. Backup centers are being asked to defend in space. Rookie guards are being thrown into high-leverage spot minutes simply because someone has to soak up the load.
For a team like the Lakers, any extended absence for LeBron or Anthony Davis would be a direct hit to their already narrow path out of the Play-In. For the Warriors, Curry’s health is the franchise’s heartbeat. For Boston and Denver, the question shifts to depth: can they steal enough rest nights for Tatum, Brown, Jokic or Jamal Murray without sacrificing seeding?
What is next: must-watch matchups and playoff stakes
The schedule over the next few days might be the most revealing stretch of the season so far. Marquee matchups pepper the slate: another national-television night for LeBron and the Lakers against a Western rival they are chasing, a heavyweight showdown for Tatum and the Celtics against one of the East’s elite, and a fresh test for Curry’s Warriors against a younger, faster group trying to knock them down the standings.
For fans locked into live scores, this is the window where every run and every cold spell feels outsized. A late three from downtown is no longer just a highlight; it might be the tiebreaker in April. A blown defensive rotation is not just a teaching clip; it might be the play that leaves a team half a game back in the Playoff Picture.
The only real guarantee is volatility. The NBA standings will keep twisting as contenders sharpen habits, stars chase the MVP Race, and bubble teams fight to just keep the door to the postseason cracked open. If last night was any indication, we are heading for a stretch run where every box score tells a story and every night feels like a mini playoff game.
Lock in, keep one eye on the live scores and another on the NBA standings board, and get ready: the next week of basketball is going to separate the teams that are built for May and June from the ones just visiting the conversation.
