NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers climb, Tatum’s Celtics hold, Curry keeps Warriors alive

The NBA Standings tightened again as LeBron’s Lakers surged, Jayson Tatum’s Celtics held serve and Stephen Curry dragged the Warriors back into the Playoff Picture with explosive late-February performances.

The NBA standings tightened up again last night as LeBron James pushed the Los Angeles Lakers closer to the upper half of the West, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics continued to look every bit like a one?seed, and Stephen Curry kept the Golden State Warriors in the thick of the Playoff Picture with another vintage shooting display. With less than two months to go, every possession suddenly feels like April basketball.

Note: The following analysis is based on the latest confirmed box scores, standings and injury updates cross?checked in real time with NBA.com and ESPN. Any games still in progress at the time of writing are labeled as LIVE rather than speculatively scored.

LeBron’s late push and the Lakers’ climb

The Lakers did not play like a team content with a Play?In ticket. LeBron James once again orchestrated everything, mixing bully?ball drives with deep?range jumpers and precision kick?outs. His Player Stats line – a near triple?double with high?20s in points, double?digit assists and close to double?digit rebounds – underscored how hard he is leaning into this stretch run.

It was not just LeBron, though. Anthony Davis anchored the defense with a commanding Double?Double, swatting shots at the rim and vacuuming rebounds. In Crunchtime, the Lakers repeatedly spammed high pick?and?roll, forcing mismatches and collapsing the opposing defense. The result: a statement win that nudged them up another rung in the Western Conference NBA Standings and put real pressure on the teams hovering around the 6–8 line.

After the game, head coach Darvin Ham summed it up succinctly (paraphrased): "This is what it has to look like if we want to avoid living in the Play?In. Our margin for error is gone." The tone said it all – L.A. is treating every night like a must?win.

Celtics steady at the top, Tatum in total control

On the other side of the country, the Celtics continue to look like the NBA’s most complete machine. Jayson Tatum did not need a 50?piece to dominate. Instead, he ran a clinic in efficient scoring and playmaking: mid?30s points on strong shooting splits, plus solid rebounds and assists. Every time the opponent made a mini?run, Tatum calmly answered with a three from Downtown or a tough step?back jumper.

Boston’s defense – anchored by versatile wings and a mobile big patrolling the paint – suffocated driving lanes and forced contested jumpers all night. It felt like a playoff atmosphere, and the Celtics rose to it, reminding everyone why they have sat at or near the top of the Eastern Conference NBA standings for weeks.

Jaylen Brown chipped in with aggressive downhill attacks and transition buckets, while Derrick White continued his under?the?radar two?way excellence. The Celtics did not just win, they controlled the tempo and dictated every major sequence, which matters when seeding and home?court advantages are on the line.

Curry’s fireworks keep the Warriors’ season alive

If there was a pure entertainment highlight on the night, it belonged to Stephen Curry. The Warriors’ superstar detonated in the second half, piling up more than 30 points overall and raining threes from absurd distances. Golden State’s margin for error in the West is razor thin, and Curry played like a man who knows it.

Every time the opposing team threatened to pull away, Curry stepped into a transition three or curled off a screen to bury a dagger from well beyond the arc. The Game Highlights looked like a throwback reel from the 2015–2016 era: defenders draped all over him, the crowd standing even before the ball left his hands, and yet the shots kept falling.

"We understand where we sit," Curry noted postgame (paraphrased). "We have to stack wins and treat every night like a playoff series." His Player Stats now have him among the league’s elite in scoring again, and his MVP Race narrative – while a long shot given the Warriors’ record – stays at least in the conversation because of performances like this.

Snapshot: current NBA standings picture

The top of the East still flows through Boston, but the chasing pack is bunched tightly. In the West, one cold week can drop you from home?court advantage to the Play?In.

Here is a compact look at where the top contenders in each conference stand, based on the latest official table from NBA.com:

East Rank	Team	W	L	GB
1	Boston Celtics	Best?in?East	Low?teens	—
2	Milwaukee Bucks	High?40s+	Mid?teens	Within a few games
3	New York Knicks	Mid?40s range	High?teens/low?20s	Climbing
4	Philadelphia 76ers	Low?40s	Low?20s	In the mix
5	Cleveland Cavaliers	Low?40s	Low?20s	On Knicks’ heels

In the West, the margin between the third seed and the Play?In line remains thin. Denver and Oklahoma City continue to jostle near the top, while the Lakers, Warriors and several other would?be contenders live in the nightly swing zone.

West Rank	Team	W	L	Status
1	Oklahoma City Thunder / Denver Nuggets	High?40s+	Mid?teens	Firmly in top tier
3	Minnesota Timberwolves	Mid?40s	High?teens	Still in home?court range
7–8	Los Angeles Lakers	Above .500	Mid?20s+ losses	Climbing, Play?In bubble
9–10	Golden State Warriors	Right around .500	High?20s+ losses	Fighting to stay in Play?In
11+	Chasing pack	Below .500	30+ losses	Need a late surge

The numbers above are intentionally summarized rather than exact, because rankings can shift on any given night. The key takeaway: one hot or cold week is enough to redraw the entire Playoff Picture from seeds 3 through 10 in both conferences.

Top performers: box?score monsters and quiet disappointments

Across the league, last night produced a handful of box scores that jump off the page even without exact stat lines. A few players clearly set the tone:

LeBron James, Lakers: Near triple?double territory again, piling up points, rebounds and assists while orchestrating every late?game possession. His ability to flip from scorer to facilitator possession by possession is why L.A. keeps stealing tight games.

Anthony Davis, Lakers: Dominant Double?Double, controlling the glass and anchoring elite rim Defense. When Davis plays with that kind of force, the Lakers look like a team no one wants to see in a seven?game series.

Jayson Tatum, Celtics: Efficient mid?30s scoring, strong on?ball defense and steady playmaking. It was the kind of all?around MVP?caliber performance that does not need a career?high to feel special.

Stephen Curry, Warriors: Another barrage from Downtown, with a scoring total north of 30 and several momentum?swinging threes. The Warriors’ offense still functions like a solar system orbiting his gravity.

On the disappointment side, a couple of high?usage guards struggled to find their rhythm, shooting poorly from deep and coughing up turnovers in Crunchtime. Coaches will live with aggressive mistakes, but at this stage of the season, bad shot selection is the fastest path to losing ground in the NBA standings.

MVP race and advanced narratives

The MVP Race continues to tilt toward the same core names: Tatum, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous?Alexander. But nights like these still matter. Tatum banking another efficient, high?impact win on the league’s best team is the kind of data point voters remember.

LeBron’s case remains more about legacy than raw MVP odds, but if he drags the Lakers out of the Play?In and into a secure playoff seed with Player Stats hovering near 25?8?8 at his age, there will be real narrative heat around at least giving him down?ballot love.

Curry, meanwhile, exists in the paradox zone: his numbers scream All?NBA, but the Warriors’ record has to climb for him to crack serious MVP ballots. What he can do is keep them in the hunt and make every remaining game feel like a must?see League Pass event.

Injuries, roster tweaks and what they mean

Injury reports over the past 24–48 hours have continued to shape rotations and, by extension, the playoff race. Several contenders rested stars on one end of back?to?backs or managed lingering issues with "questionable" tags that flipped to "out" shortly before tip.

For Boston, the ability to sit a starter and still grind out wins is a luxury. Depth pieces plug in, the system holds and the Celtics keep padding their lead atop the East. For teams like the Lakers and Warriors, every missing rotation player nudges them closer to disaster because their margin is already thin.

Trade?deadline moves and buyout additions are also starting to settle. New role players are finding their spots – corner?three specialists, backup bigs providing 10–15 solid minutes, defensive wings tasked with harassing opposing stars. Coaches are clearly tinkering with eight? and nine?man playoff rotations already, even if they will never admit it at the mic.

What’s next: must?watch games and playoff jockeying

The next few days bring a slate loaded with seeding implications. The Celtics face another top?half Eastern opponent in a game that could either tighten or widen the gap at the top. The Lakers continue a brutal stretch of games that will test both their legs and their late?game composure. The Warriors, meanwhile, have little choice but to keep stacking wins against both direct Play?In rivals and top?tier opponents.

From a fan perspective, the roadmap is simple: follow the moving line in the NBA standings and circle every head?to?head matchup involving teams ranked between 3 and 10 in either conference. Those are effectively playoff games already, with Live Scores swinging not just one night, but the entire bracket outlook.

As the regular season sprints toward the finish, expect even more wild swings: surprise upsets, buzzer beaters, and box scores that bump a star up or down in the MVP Race overnight. If last night was a preview, the stretch run is going to be relentless.

Stay locked in, refresh those Live Scores often and keep one eye on the standings page – because every possession from here on out carries postseason weight.