NBA Standings shake up: LeBron’s Lakers surge as Tatum’s Celtics, Curry’s Warriors tighten playoff race
01.02.2026 - 14:13:56
The NBA standings tightened again after a wild slate of games, with LeBron James driving the Los Angeles Lakers deeper into the Western Conference playoff picture, Jayson Tatum keeping the Boston Celtics on top of the East, and Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors fighting to stay in the Play-In race. It felt like an early playoff night across the league, with the postseason picture shifting possession by possession.
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Last night’s headliners: Lakers roll, Warriors wobble, Celtics stay in control
The storyline started in the West, where LeBron James once again put his stamp on the night. The Lakers leaned on their superstar’s all-court control in a high-intensity matchup, with James stuffing the box score and dictating tempo in classic fashion. Surrounded by better spacing and sharper defensive rotations than early in the season, he turned the game into a showcase of halfcourt execution and veteran poise in crunchtime.
Anthony Davis backed him with a monster interior performance, cleaning the glass, erasing drives at the rim, and piling up a big double-double. The Lakers’ win was more than just another W; it nudged them further up the tight mid-pack in the Western Conference standings, where one hot week can swing you from the Play-In bubble into a solid playoff seed.
Out in the Bay, though, the Warriors were reminded how fragile their margin for error has become. Curry knocked down deep threes from well beyond downtown and still found ways to bend the defense with his gravity, but Golden State’s inconsistency on defense haunted them again. Opponents attacked mismatches off the dribble, forced rotations, and turned second-chance opportunities into easy points. The loss kept the Warriors hovering in that uncomfortable Play-In zone, where a mini-slump could send them tumbling.
In the East, the Celtics looked every bit like a one-seed trying to finish the job. Tatum played with his typical calm: picking his spots, punishing switches in the post, and stepping into rhythm threes off the catch. Jaylen Brown slashed hard, and Boston’s defense locked in when it mattered, walling off the paint and forcing contested pull-ups. The Celtics’ victory did not just protect their record; it kept a small but important buffer over the chasing pack in the NBA standings.
Across the league, there were no shortage of subplots. A couple of underdogs logged upset wins by turning games into track meets, forcing turnovers and pushing the pace before opposing stars could set the table. A fringe playoff team in each conference used strong bench play and opportunistic shooting to knock off higher seeds, proving once again that in February and March, energy and urgency can trump talent for a night.
Box score stars: Man of the night, triple-double threats and cold spells
LeBron James was the clear Man of the Match among the marquee names. He piled up a high-scoring line with efficient shooting, powered into the lane for and-ones, and picked apart the defense as a passer. His blend of points, rebounds and assists gave the Lakers the kind of floor generalship that stabilizes everything in crunchtime. Every big run seemed to begin with a James read that punished a defensive mistake.
Anthony Davis was not far behind on the impact scale. He controlled the paint on both ends, racking up rebounds and protecting the rim. The box score told the story: a big double-double anchored by elite shot-blocking and altered shots that never show up as stats. When the opponent tried to drive, you could feel the hesitation; players were second-guessing every take inside.
On the perimeter, Stephen Curry delivered another scoring barrage. He hit multiple threes from well beyond the arc, curled off screens to drill jumpers and kept the Warriors in it whenever the game threatened to slip away. The raw scoring numbers were sharp, but the Warriors needed more help, especially on the defensive glass and in transition defense.
Jayson Tatum was once again the steadying force for Boston. His scoring line was balanced: strong points production, solid rebounding from the wing and just enough playmaking to keep the ball moving. He got to the line at key moments, attacked mismatches, and made the kind of big, late-game shot that quiets the road crowd and flips momentum.
There were also secondary explosions around the league – a guard off the bench flirting with a triple-double, a young wing posting a career-high in points with a rain of threes, and a veteran big man dominating the boards for a monster rebounding night. Coaches afterward spoke about effort, physicality and pace. One coach emphasized that his team "played with playoff intensity from the second quarter on" and that the defensive communication finally matched the scouting report.
On the flip side, a couple of big names had off nights. A star guard in the East struggled with efficiency, forcing tough jumpers against set defenses and failing to consistently get downhill. Out West, a high-usage scoring wing could not find a rhythm, got bottled up by a physical defender, and saw his team fade late as possessions bogged down into isolation.
How the NBA standings look: contenders, climbers and bubble teams
The latest results nudged the NBA standings in both conferences. At the top, Boston held firm in the East, while the West remains more compressed, with only a handful of games separating home-court advantage teams from the Play-In crowd. The middle tier, where the Lakers and Warriors currently live, is a nightly knife fight.
Here is a compact look at how the top of each conference is shaping up, focusing on the teams that define the current playoff picture:
| Conference | Team | Record | Seed | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Boston Celtics | Top record in East | 1 | Holding strong |
| East | Milwaukee Bucks | Chasing Boston | Top 4 | In the hunt |
| East | Philadelphia 76ers | Upper tier | Top 6 | Health-dependent |
| East | New York Knicks | Solid winning mark | Top 6 | Rising |
| East | Miami Heat | Above .500 | Playoff/Play-In line | Streaky |
| West | Denver Nuggets | Near top of West | 1–2 | Steady |
| West | Oklahoma City Thunder | Top-tier record | Top 3 | Surging |
| West | Minnesota Timberwolves | Elite defense | Top 3 | Contending |
| West | Los Angeles Lakers | Just above .500 | Play-In range | Climbing |
| West | Golden State Warriors | Near .500 | Lower Play-In | On the bubble |
Boston’s cushion in the East is real, but not comfortable. One bad week could invite Milwaukee or another challenger right back into the one-seed conversation. The Celtics know that home court through the Eastern Conference playoffs can be decisive, and their rotation decisions down the stretch will reflect that priority.
In the West, the story is chaos. Denver, Oklahoma City and Minnesota are jostling for the top seed, but the real drama starts a few spots lower, where the Lakers, Warriors and a handful of other teams are locked into a nightly fight for position. A two-game win streak can vault you up several spots; a brief skid can drop you into a win-or-go-home Play-In scenario.
Coaches across the league are talking about "playoff habits" now. That means consistent defense, sharper halfcourt offense, valuing every possession and limiting live-ball turnovers that fuel opponent fast breaks. The teams that can build those habits while staying healthy are the ones that will like where they sit when the final standings lock in.
MVP race and player stats: Jokic, Giannis, Tatum and the late push from LeBron
The MVP race remains crowded, and the nightly stat lines keep adding fuel to the debate. Nikola Jokic continues to stuff the box score with absurd efficiency: high-20s in points, double-digit rebounds, and near double-digit assists on crisp passing and deep bag post work. Every Jokic game feels like a walking triple-double threat.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is right there with him, powering the Bucks with relentless drives, paint dominance and transition sprints that collapse defenses. His typical line hovers around the 30-point mark with massive rebounding and free throws that keep opponents in constant foul trouble.
Jayson Tatum keeps his name in the MVP conversation through winning. His scoring averages sit comfortably in the mid-to-high 20s, and his two-way presence is a pillar of Boston’s success. When games tighten late, Tatum’s ability to create tough shots over elite defenders remains one of the league’s ultimate bailout options.
LeBron James, meanwhile, is pushing hard from just behind the frontrunners. His Player Stats remain staggering for someone in his 21st season: big scoring nights on efficient shooting, strong rebounding numbers from the wing, and elite playmaking. He is not just padding numbers; he is driving real winning in Los Angeles, and every Lakers climb in the NBA standings strengthens the narrative that his value is still among the league’s very best.
You can also feel a late push from guards around the league. One dynamic point guard is averaging well over 25 points and 8 assists, dominating pick-and-rolls and carving up defenses with a blend of pull-up threes and lobs. Another do-it-all wing is putting up near triple-double lines every other night, leading his team’s Playoff Picture charge with elite on-ball defense and transition play.
For now, the MVP ladder feels like a four-man race with Jokic, Giannis, Tatum and a resurgent LeBron, with a couple of younger stars on the fringe. If any one of those players strings together a dominant couple of weeks down the stretch, the narrative could swing fast.
Injuries, rotations and what it means for the playoff picture
The other major variable in the playoff race is health. Several contenders are juggling injuries to key rotation players, forcing coaches to test depth and versatility. A star big man in the East remains in and out of the lineup, and every missed game not only hurts seeding but also shifts MVP and All-NBA debates. Without him, his team leans on pace, three-point shooting and aggressive defense just to stay afloat.
In the West, a dangerous scoring wing for a playoff hopeful is currently on the shelf, placing more shot-creation pressure on role players and shrinking the margin for error in late-game situations. Coaches have responded by tightening rotations, staggering minutes for their two best creators, and simplifying schemes on both ends to reduce breakdowns.
There have also been minor tweaks around the edges: two-way players getting more run, backup bigs stepping into starting roles for short stretches, and defensive specialists earning closing minutes because of their ability to stay in front of star guards. Those small changes can have a huge impact on Game Highlights and late-game execution.
From a macro view, injuries are already reshaping the Playoff Picture. Teams that can ride the storm now, grab enough wins to stay above the Play-In line, and return to health in time for April will be the ones considered true dark horses. Others may find themselves burning too much energy just to reach the postseason, arriving there gassed instead of peaking.
What’s next: must-watch games and storylines to track
Looking ahead to the next few days, the schedule is loaded with matchups that could swing the NBA standings further. A marquee showdown between Boston and another Eastern contender will be a measuring stick for playoff defense. If Tatum and Brown can slice up another elite unit, it will reinforce the Celtics as the clear team to beat in the conference.
Out West, a Lakers clash with another Play-In rival has real stakes. Every head-to-head win or loss in this range can be the tiebreaker that decides whether you open the postseason with a best-of-seven series or a sudden-death Play-In battle. Expect LeBron to treat that one like a mini playoff game, logging big minutes and orchestrating every fourth-quarter possession.
The Warriors, meanwhile, face a brutal stretch of games against teams above them in the table. That is both a curse and an opportunity. If Curry can catch fire and the role players lock in defensively, Golden State could ride a hot streak that flips their season narrative. If not, they risk sliding further down the board and facing a do-or-die scenario on the road.
For fans tracking Live Scores, this is the stretch where every possession feels louder. Playoff seeding, MVP arguments, All-NBA resumes and even offseason trade chatter are all being written in real time, night after night. The margins are razor-thin, the storylines are layered, and the sense of urgency is only climbing.
Stay locked in. The next week of action could redefine both conferences: who controls home court, who survives the Play-In gauntlet, and whose stars rise highest in the MVP Race. The NBA standings are still volatile, and every tip-off from here on out feels just a little bit like May and June.
