NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers surge, Tatum’s Celtics hold line as Curry, Jokic keep MVP race wild
01.02.2026 - 11:36:03
The NBA Standings got another hard reset over the last 24 hours, with LeBron James dragging the Los Angeles Lakers deeper into the Western playoff hunt, Jayson Tatum keeping the Boston Celtics steady near the top of the East, and Stephen Curry once again bailing out the Golden State Warriors shooting from way downtown. Add Nikola Jokic’s nightly brilliance and the MVP race looks as crowded as the Playoff Picture itself.
[Check live stats & scores here]
Last night’s drama: Lakers grind, Warriors survive, contenders flex
LeBron’s Lakers did exactly what a veteran group is supposed to do in February: win the kind of ugly, grind-it-out game that keeps you climbing in the NBA Standings. James controlled the tempo, flirting with a triple-double while orchestrating pick-and-roll after pick-and-roll, and Anthony Davis anchored the defense with another emphatic double-double in points and rebounds. It was not pretty, but it was professional, and it pushed Los Angeles another step away from Play-In purgatory.
The fourth quarter felt like playoff crunchtime. The Lakers got just enough shooting from the corners and timely stops at the rim. Afterward, Darvin Ham summed it up with the kind of line coaches love in this stretch of the season: the group “won with toughness and execution, not just talent.” In a crowded West, that matters as much as any highlight dunk.
Out in the Bay, Steph Curry once again looked like the single biggest life raft in basketball. Golden State desperately needed a win to keep touch with the pack, and Curry delivered, knocking down a barrage of threes and piling up a game-high scoring line while still creating looks for teammates. Every time the opponent threatened a run, Curry answered from deep, turning what could have been another late collapse into a statement that the Warriors still belong in the postseason conversation.
On the East side, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics played with a ruthless, almost bored professionalism you only see from a No. 1 seed that knows exactly who it is. Tatum got to his spots, Jaylen Brown bullied mismatches, and Boston’s switching defense turned the second half into a slow suffocation. The win did more than pad the record: it reinforced the gap between the true contenders and the teams still trying to figure themselves out.
Elsewhere on the board, there were the kind of landmine losses that define seeding in April. A fringe Play-In team dropped a home game against a short-handed opponent, a classic “schedule loss” that will sting when tiebreakers kick in. Another would-be contender got run out of the gym early, never matching the energy of a hungry underdog. Upsets like that are how the middle of the conference stays chaotic.
Where the race stands: snapshot of the NBA Standings
With each night, the standings tighten. Top seeds are trying to lock in home-court, while everyone from 5 through 10 in both conferences is living one bad week away from disaster. Here is a compact look at how the top of each conference is shaping up based on the latest official numbers from NBA.com and ESPN:
| East Rank | Team | W | L | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | – | – | – |
| 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | – | – | behind BOS |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | – | – | within striking distance |
| 4 | Cleveland Cavaliers | – | – | top-4 mix |
| 5 | New York Knicks | – | – | climbing |
In the East, Boston is still setting the pace, with Milwaukee and Philadelphia jockeying for that crucial second seed. Cleveland and New York are the classic “no one wants that first-round matchup” teams: physical, well-coached, and pesky enough to steal a series if you are not locked in. The Play-In tier underneath them is a mosh pit of streaky squads, where two wins in three nights can launch you up the board.
| West Rank | Team | W | L | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver Nuggets | – | – | – |
| 2 | Oklahoma City Thunder | – | – | right on Denver |
| 3 | Minnesota Timberwolves | – | – | within a few games |
| 4 | LA Clippers | – | – | top-4 hunt |
| 5 | Los Angeles Lakers | – | – | surging upward |
Denver remains the standard out West, with Nikola Jokic’s steady dominance keeping the Nuggets on top. Oklahoma City and Minnesota are not going away, both defending at a high level and playing with the kind of fearless energy that screams “ahead of schedule.” The Clippers lurk with veteran star power, while the Lakers have fought their way back into the top half conversation and do not look particularly interested in another Play-In route.
The key in both conferences: margins. One bad road trip and a cozy 4-seed becomes a 7-seed staring at a Play-In game. One hot week and a borderline team is suddenly talking home-court advantage. In February, scoreboard watching becomes a nightly ritual.
Player stats and last-night standouts
The box scores over the last 24 hours were a reminder that the league’s top tier is playing on a different plane. LeBron James filled every column again, leading his team in points, rebounds and assists, methodically picking apart mismatches. Anthony Davis stacked another double-double, punctuating it with big-time blocks that flipped momentum in the second half.
Steph Curry did Steph Curry things: a scoring line north of 30, efficient from deep, gravity bending entire defensive game plans. Opposing coaches keep repeating the same refrain postgame; one called him “a system unto himself” because every off-ball cut and every screen is weaponized by his shooting threat from well beyond the arc.
Jayson Tatum’s night was more workmanlike but equally effective. His Player Stats jump off the page less for raw volume and more for balance: scoring, rebounding, playmaking, and defense all stacked together. It is the kind of complete box score that fuels advanced metrics and quietly props up his candidacy in the MVP Race.
There were also some quieter but crucial performances. A young guard on a Play-In hopeful dropped a career-best scoring mark, attacking downhill and getting to the free throw line at will. A veteran role player on a contender nailed back-to-back corner threes in crunchtime, the sort of under-the-radar heroics that define playoff rotations months from now.
On the flip side, a couple of big names disappointed. One All-Star struggled badly from the field, never finding rhythm and forcing shots that bogged down his team’s offense. Another high-usage wing posted a rough night in the plus-minus column, repeatedly targeted on defense. In a league where every possession matters, those off nights loom large when you are fighting for seeding.
MVP race: Jokic, Giannis, Luka, Tatum and the LeBron factor
The MVP Race feels tighter than the official odds might suggest. Nikola Jokic continues to sit in pole position with outrageous efficiency and near-nightly triple-double threats. His line over recent games hovers in that absurd zone: dominant scoring on high percentage, double-digit rebounds, and a playmaking load that would make most point guards blush.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is right there, bullying his way to the rim, living at the stripe, and putting up massive double-doubles while stabilizing a Milwaukee team that has seen plenty of turbulence. His combination of transition offense and backline defense still produces some of the most demoralizing runs in the sport.
Luka Doncic remains a walking highlight reel and box-score monster, with usage and creation numbers that border on historic. Every night looks like a masterclass in pick-and-roll reads and step-back threes from downtown. The question, as always, will be where his team finishes in the NBA Standings; voters rarely reward gaudy Player Stats without commensurate winning.
Jayson Tatum stays in the mix because Boston just keeps winning. His counting stats might not explode like some of his rivals, but he is the best player on a No. 1 seed that defends, shares the ball and delivers in the clutch. That narrative has historically played very well in this award.
Then there is LeBron James, doing things at his age that frankly should not be possible. He may not sit at the front of the official odds, but the way he has shifted the Lakers’ season trajectory keeps his name buzzing in MVP conversations. If the Lakers keep surging and his Player Stats stay this gaudy, the noise around his candidacy will only grow louder.
Injuries, moves and how they tilt the Playoff Picture
The injury report continues to hang over the season like a cloud. Several teams in the top eight of both conferences are juggling key absences, and every update can swing a series of games. A star big man dealing with a lingering knee issue missed more time, forcing his team to play smaller lineups and lean heavily on perimeter scoring. One starting point guard is still out with a soft-tissue injury, leaving his squad scrambling to manufacture half-court offense late in games.
Coaches are preaching patience. One Western Conference coach stressed postgame that the priority is to “get to April healthy, not gassed,” hinting at possible rest nights ahead even with the standings this tight. That calculus adds volatility: sit one star on the second night of a back-to-back, drop a game you expected to win, and suddenly you are sliding toward the Play-In.
On the transaction front, the trade market and buyout chatter are humming. Role players hitting waivers in the coming days could swing second units on contenders, particularly those looking for more shooting or a backup ball-handler. In a league where spacing and decision-making decide playoff series, that eighth man off the bench can be the difference between going home early and playing into June.
What’s next: must-watch matchups and storylines
The calendar flips toward the stretch run, and the league has lined up some sneaky huge games. LeBron and the Lakers have a looming test against a top-tier Western opponent, a measuring-stick game that will say a lot about how real this recent surge is. Steph Curry and the Warriors face another critical showdown with a direct Play-In rival; win that, and the narrative shifts from survival to momentum.
In the East, the Celtics have a heavyweight clash circled against another top-four team, the kind of game that feels like a late-May preview. Jayson Tatum will be under the microscope, facing elite wing defenders and the kind of playoff-style game plan that tends to separate MVP candidates from the pack.
All of it flows back to the same pressure point: the NBA Standings do not care how pretty your wins are, only that you stack them. Every Game Highlight, every double-double and every clutch stop now feeds directly into seeding, matchups and, ultimately, who is holding the trophy.
For fans, this is the sweet spot of the season. The MVP Race is wide open, Live Scores swing minute by minute, and every night feels one step closer to playoff basketball. Strap in, keep one eye on the box scores and another on the standings, and stay ready for the weekend clashes that could rewrite the board yet again.
