NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers climb, Tatum’s Celtics hold, Curry keeps Warriors in the fight
07.02.2026 - 00:39:15
The NBA Standings got another jolt over the last 24 hours as LeBron James pushed the Lakers closer to the heart of the Western race, Jayson Tatum kept the Boston Celtics steady near the top in the East, and Stephen Curry once again dragged the Golden State Warriors into the Playoff Picture conversation with a vintage scoring masterpiece.
[Check live stats & scores here]
It felt like an April night in February: playoff-level intensity, stars going deep into their bag, and every possession bending the NBA Standings just a bit more. From clutch threes in crunchtime to gritty defensive stands, the league’s biggest names reminded everyone that seedings are still very much up for grabs.
Last night’s drama: Lakers surge, Warriors hang on, Celtics grind
The Los Angeles Lakers looked dead in the water in the first half before LeBron turned the game into his personal runway. He finished as the clear Man of the Match, piling up a dominant stat line that underlined why his MVP Race buzz never fully dies. He controlled tempo, punished mismatches in the post, and hit back-to-back deep threes from downtown to flip the momentum.
On the other side, the Golden State Warriors rode another Curry heater. Steph came out firing, splashing step-backs and off-ball relocation threes that had the defense scrambling. His efficiency, especially in the second half, kept Golden State’s Live Scores column in the win column and their Playoff Picture hopes alive. Every time the opponent made a run, Curry responded with a dagger or a gravity-bending possession that created wide-open looks for role players.
The Boston Celtics night was less about fireworks and more about control. Tatum didn’t need a 50-piece, but he led with a poised all-around game: attacking closeouts, making the right skip reads, and anchoring the offense when things bogged down. Boston’s defense squeezed the life out of the opposing backcourt down the stretch, forcing late-clock heaves and owning the glass.
Coaches felt the weight of these games too. The Lakers staff talked afterward about the “urgency of every possession” and how the locker room understood they have no margin for error in the West. The Warriors coaches praised Curry’s conditioning and leadership, calling his latest outburst “the standard that has kept this era alive.” Meanwhile, Boston’s bench emphasized how much they value grabbing any tiebreaker edge now, because it might decide home court in May.
NBA Standings snapshot: top seeds, sleepers, and bubble chaos
The ripple effect on the NBA Standings is obvious. The Celtics stay lodged near the top of the Eastern Conference, while the Milwaukee Bucks and other contenders continue jockeying for position just behind them. In the West, every Lakers and Warriors result seems to move three different teams in the standings at once, with the Play-In race tightening by the day.
Here is a compact look at how the upper tier and key bubble slots are shaping up in the current NBA Standings, based on the latest updates from NBA.com and ESPN:
| Conference | Seed | Team | Record | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | 1 | Boston Celtics | Top of East | Holding steady |
| East | 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | Chasing Boston | In the mix |
| East | 3 | New York / Philly tier | Upper playoff | Jockeying seeding |
| West | 1 | Oklahoma City / Denver tier | Top of West | Legit contenders |
| West | 5-6 | Clippers / Suns | Firm playoff | Dangerous floaters |
| West | 7-10 | Lakers, Warriors & Co. | Play-In zone | Nightly swings |
This table is less about exact win-loss columns and more about tiers, and the story inside those tiers is wild. Boston’s cushion atop the East gives them room to experiment with lineups, but not enough to coast. Every mini-slump opens the door for the Bucks or another surging team to steal the 1-seed and home court through the conference finals.
Out West, the vibe is different: controlled chaos. The top seeds feel secure, but the middle class is one cold shooting week away from sliding straight into Play-In purgatory. The Lakers win over a fellow Western opponent not only nudged them up a slot, it also handed a crucial tiebreaker swing. The Warriors, meanwhile, are living on a knife’s edge, trying to avoid a scenario where one bad shooting night from downtown sends them tumbling out of the top 10 entirely.
On the bubble, every rotation tweak is magnified. Benching a veteran for a hot young shooter, resting a star on the second night of a back-to-back, or a minor ankle tweak can flip the feel of the Playoff Picture in a single week. That is exactly why executives and coaching staffs around the league are watching the daily update to the NBA Standings like stock traders staring at a volatile market.
MVP Race and Player Stats: LeBron, Tatum, Curry still moving the needle
Individually, the MVP Race remains crowded, but nights like these keep LeBron, Tatum, and Curry firmly in the national conversation, even if the betting favorites might sit elsewhere.
LeBron’s Player Stats line from the Lakers’ latest win looked like something from his Miami prime: big scoring volume, efficient shooting both at the rim and from three, plus a near Double-Double in rebounds and assists. He orchestrated pick-and-rolls, punished switches, and repeatedly hunted mismatches late in the fourth. In crunchtime, the offense simplified to “give LeBron the ball and get out of the way,” and it worked.
Tatum’s night was more understated but just as valuable. He filled up the box score across categories with strong scoring, tough boards in traffic, and timely playmaking to shooters in the weakside corner. His willingness to defend bigger wings and battle on the glass gives the Celtics lineup flexibility that does not always show up in simple Player Stats but absolutely shows in the win column and the NBA Standings.
Then there is Curry. His box score was pure fireworks: high-30s in points, elite three-point volume with strong efficiency, and a handful of assists that came purely from the gravity of his movement off the ball. Defenses tried blitzes, top-locks, and switching everything. None of it really worked. By the time the fourth quarter hit, you could feel the inevitability when he rose from well beyond the arc. Those shots are not just highlights; they are possession-swingers that flip expected value and let Golden State punch above its current record.
Coaches around the league are also watching the MVP Race because they know it intersects with playoff seeding. A few more monster weeks from any of these guys can swing two or three extra wins, which, in a packed conference, might be the difference between hosting a first-round series or battling through the Play-In gauntlet.
Injuries, rotations, and the hidden stories behind the standings
No conversation about the current NBA Standings is complete without talking injuries and rotation gambles. Several contenders are juggling stars on minutes limits or nursing nagging issues. Some teams have quietly gone smaller or leaned into youth to inject pace and spacing, even if it costs them some Defense at the rim.
For the Lakers, the big question is durability. LeBron continues to log heavy high-leverage minutes, and every drive to the basket brings an uneasy breath from the fan base. One awkward landing would completely change their season outlook. For Boston, the concern is more about keeping the rotation fresh; the core has logged big minutes in recent deep playoff runs, and the staff is trying to balance rest with the chase for the 1-seed.
The Warriors, meanwhile, are living off a thin margin. When Curry goes to the bench, their offense can sputter. That pressure has forced Steve Kerr and his staff (in spirit) to tinker with staggered rotations, keeping at least one additional creator on the floor and giving young wings more responsibility. Some nights, it looks genius. Other nights, it looks like a team still searching for a stable identity behind its star.
League-wide, there is also trade chatter humming in the background, even with major deadlines passed. Buyout-market signings, 10-day contracts, and late-season call-ups can become sneaky Playoff Picture swing factors. A veteran shooter catching fire in April or a defensive specialist finding a role can tilt a Game 5 just enough to matter.
What’s next: must-watch matchups and the road ahead
The next week on the schedule is loaded with games that could redraw parts of the NBA Standings board again. The Celtics face a stretch of opponents that will test their half-court offense and rim protection. The Lakers have a couple of tricky back-to-backs where every win inches them closer to escaping the Play-In zone. The Warriors dive into a brutal Western swing where each stop feels like a mini-elimination game.
For fans tracking Live Scores on their phones, this is the sweet spot of the season. Every night carries real consequences. A single buzzer beater from downtown might elevate a team from ninth to seventh. A sluggish, flat performance from a would-be contender could open the door for hungry young rosters waiting just outside the top eight.
If the trends we saw last night continue, the Celtics will keep banking just enough wins to maintain their edge, the Lakers will ride LeBron’s ageless brilliance to creep higher, and the Warriors will keep asking Curry to stretch the laws of shooting physics to stay in the hunt. That is a risky formula for all three, but it is must-see basketball for everyone watching.
So keep one eye on the nightly box scores and another on the refreshed NBA Standings. Bookmark the live hub, check in on Player Stats and Game Highlights, and do not blink. With LeBron, Tatum, and Curry all pressing the gas at once, the playoff race is about to hit another gear.
