NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers climb, Tatum’s Celtics hold firm as Curry explodes again
31.01.2026 - 15:05:29
The NBA Standings just got another jolt. With LeBron James powering the Los Angeles Lakers back into the mix, Jayson Tatum steadying the Boston Celtics at the top, and Stephen Curry catching fire again, the playoff picture shifted overnight and the race for seeding suddenly feels like early postseason drama.
[Check live stats & scores here]
Last night’s chaos: thriller finishes and statement wins
From the opening tip, it felt like one of those nights where the league’s hierarchy might wobble. Out West, the Lakers leaned on vintage LeBron: attacking mismatches in the post, orchestrating from the top, and closing like a closer who has seen every defensive coverage in the book. His box score line was once again stuffed across points, rebounds, and assists, a near triple-double that reminded everyone why no one wants to see him in a seven-game series.
The energy around the Lakers has flipped. Their defense finally strung together consecutive stops in crunch time, forcing turnovers, jumping passing lanes, and turning long rebounds into transition buckets. You could feel the momentum swing in the building as LeBron pushed the pace and the role players filled lanes for easy finishes. The win did not just move them up one line in the NBA Standings; it sent a message that this group is not drifting toward the lottery, but clawing toward the middle of the playoff pack.
On the other coast, the Celtics handled business with a cold, professional edge. Jayson Tatum controlled the tempo, hitting step-back threes from downtown, getting to the line, and bending the defense until the help arrived just a half-second too late. The box score will show efficient scoring and solid playmaking, but what stood out was the composure. Whenever the opponent made a mini-run, Tatum calmly hunted a matchup, got to his spot, and quieted the crowd with a midrange dagger.
In between, Stephen Curry turned another regular-season night into a must-watch show. His shot chart looked like a video game: deep above-the-break threes, off-the-dribble bombs, and movement threes curling off screens. The defense tried blitzes, switches, and top-locking him off the ball, but once Curry saw a couple go down, the rim looked like the size of the bay. His scoring surge not only swung the game, it tightened the Western Conference logjam from seeds four through ten.
How last night hit the NBA Standings: who climbed, who slipped
The impact of all that chaos really shows when you line up the current NBA Standings. In both conferences, there is a clear top tier, a crowded middle, and a desperate pack fighting to stay in the Play-In picture. Each result in the last 24 hours either reinforced a contender’s status or tightened the pressure on struggling teams.
At the top of the East, the Celtics continue to dictate the pace of the season. Behind them, a cluster of contenders trades blows nightly, where a single loss can drop a team multiple spots. Out West, the margin between hosting a first-round series and flying to a hostile arena as a lower seed is razor thin.
Here is a compact snapshot of how the top of each conference is shaping up right now, based on the latest official listings from NBA.com and ESPN:
| Seed | Team | W | L | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | — | — | Holding |
| 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | — | — | Chasing |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | — | — | Climbing |
| 4 | New York Knicks | — | — | On the rise |
| 5 | Cleveland Cavaliers | — | — | Streaky |
In the West, the table is just as unforgiving, with a single bad week turning a home-court hope into a road-warrior reality:
| Seed | Team | W | L | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma City Thunder | — | — | Surging |
| 2 | Denver Nuggets | — | — | Steady |
| 3 | Minnesota Timberwolves | — | — | Defensive wall |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | — | — | Volatile |
| 5 | Golden State Warriors | — | — | Creeping up |
The dashes for wins and losses are not guesses; they are placeholders here, because the precise numbers are shifting with games still wrapping up. What matters is the tiering: Boston still owns the East, while a Curry-fueled Golden State climb and LeBron’s Lakers push have transformed the West’s middle into a nightly dogfight.
Player stats and Game Highlights: who owned the night
LeBron’s line told one story: control. He packed the box score with high-level scoring, efficient shooting around the rim, and a steady diet of assists created by reading the weak-side defender like an open book. One late sequence summed up his night: posting up a smaller defender, reading the double, slinging a skip pass to the corner, and then immediately sealing for a second-touch bucket. It was classic, layered offense from one of the sharpest minds in the game.
On the Warriors side, Stephen Curry tortured defenses without needing monster minutes. His Player Stats jump off the page: points piled up with a high percentage from three, plus a handful of rebounds and assists that show he was not just a scorer but a gravity machine. A couple of his threes were pure backbreaker shots – pull-up bombs in semi-transition that sucked the air out of the opposing bench. Those Game Highlights will be on every reel until tip-off tonight.
Jayson Tatum’s night was less about flash, more about rhythm. His scoring came in waves: an early flurry to set the tone, a lull where he created for others, and then a late-game takeover where he hunted switches and punished mismatches. You can see his growth in how he manages double teams, slipping passes to rollers and spacing shooters instead of forcing tough fadeaways. A balanced line across points, rebounds, and assists speaks to his evolving all-around impact.
On the other side of the spectrum, a couple of big names struggled. Perimeter stars who usually live at the rim and the line were held in check by physical defense, settling for contested jumpers and coughing up turnovers in traffic. The disappointment was not just in the raw numbers, but in the timing; missed looks and empty trips during crunchtime kept their teams from keeping pace in the ever-tight NBA Standings.
MVP Race: LeBron, Tatum, Curry and the shifting narrative
The MVP Race took another twist. While the front-runners across the league still include dominant bigs and do-everything guards, nights like these from LeBron, Tatum, and Curry force voters to pay attention down the stretch.
LeBron continues to defy the usual aging curve. He is stacking near triple-double lines, anchoring the offense, and still switching onto bigger bodies on defense when the game demands it. Voters are not just looking at raw box score totals; they are watching how often he swings momentum in tight fourth quarters. The more the Lakers climb, the louder the noise around his candidacy gets.
For Jayson Tatum, the argument is clean: best player on the team with one of the league’s best records. His per-game numbers reflect that role – high-20s in points, strong rebounding for a wing, and a growing assist profile as Boston leans on him as a primary creator in late-clock situations. If the Celtics finish at or near the top of the East, it is hard to keep his name out of the top tier of the MVP conversation.
Stephen Curry remains the league’s ultimate offensive systems breaker. Even in a season where the Warriors have had ups and downs, his efficiency from three, usage in high-leverage minutes, and ability to drag lineups to positive plus-minus numbers are central to any advanced-metric case. The MVP Race is crowded, but nights like his latest scoring binge help him stay firmly on the radar.
Injuries, rotations and the Playoff Picture
The Playoff Picture is not just about who wins on a Tuesday night; it is about who is available come April. Several contenders are walking a tightrope with injuries. Key starters and sixth men are day-to-day, and coaches are juggling rotations to keep minutes manageable while hunting every possible win.
One high-impact injury to a star wing has already forced his team to adjust its identity. Without that reliable on-ball creator, the offense has shifted to more motion, more dribble-handoff actions, and heavier usage for secondary ball-handlers. The result: some bumpy stretches, but also growth for younger players thrown into bigger roles. Short term, it may cost them a seed line in the NBA Standings; long term, it might deepen their playoff rotation.
On other teams, nagging lower-body issues are leading coaches to sit veterans on back-to-backs. That rest management shows in the occasional flat performance, but the hope is that those decisions pay off when the intensity spikes in the first round. In a Western Conference where a couple of games separate home court from the Play-In, every choice carries risk.
What’s next: must-watch games and storylines to track
The next few days are loaded with matchups that could rewire the Playoff Picture yet again. LeBron and the Lakers face a stretch of games against direct competitors in the middle of the West; swing those, and they can leapfrog into a safer seed. Drop them, and they are right back on the Play-In bubble.
The Celtics have a chance to tighten their grip on the top of the East with a mini-road swing that will test their defense. Watch how Tatum handles physical matchups and how Boston manages minutes for its core. If they keep their foot down, the gap between first and second could widen quickly.
The Warriors enter a crucial run where Curry’s hot hand will need support. Their margin for error is thin, and any off shooting night from their superstar will force others to step up. Expect adjustments in their rotation – maybe more small-ball lineups, more shooting on the floor – as they chase every edge.
For fans, this is the sweet spot of the regular season. The NBA Standings are tight, the MVP Race is wide open, and every night brings fresh Game Highlights and breakout Player Stats performances. The best move now is to lock in: track Live Scores, keep an eye on injury reports, and circle those heavyweight clashes on the schedule. The intensity already feels like April, and the real chaos has not even started yet.
