NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers surge, Tatum’s Celtics steady as Jokic and Curry chase
29.01.2026 - 14:30:57
The NBA standings got another jolt last night, with LeBron James and the Lakers making a timely push, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics holding serve at the top, and stars like Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic stuffing the box score to keep the MVP race sizzling. It felt like an early playoff slate: tight finishes, wild shooting from downtown and every possession screaming seeding implications.
[Check live stats & scores here]
Lakers claw back into the race as LeBron turns on playoff mode
Every time you think the Los Angeles Lakers might slide toward the play-in danger zone, LeBron James reminds the league he is still built for crunchtime. In their latest marquee outing, the Lakers rode a dominant second half from LeBron to grab a key win that nudged them up the Western Conference NBA standings and tightened the middle of the pack.
James delivered a throwback all-around line, flirting with a triple-double and controlling the pace whenever the offense bogged down. He attacked the rim in transition, punished mismatches in the post and repeatedly created open looks for shooters spacing the floor. It was the kind of two-way presence that instantly changes the Lakers’ playoff picture, even in a stacked West.
Afterward, Darvin Ham essentially summed up the vibe around this late-season surge, saying James "set the tone at both ends and gave everybody belief" (paraphrased). You could feel it in the body language: more bounce defensively, more trust in the extra pass, more urgency on the glass.
The supporting cast did its job. Anthony Davis anchored the paint with a classic double-double, cleaning the boards and erasing drives at the rim. Role players knocked down timely threes from the corners, a must for any team trying to give LeBron and AD the room they need to operate. It was not a perfect performance, but it was playoff-caliber intensity from a group that knows every win matters now.
Celtics stay cool at the top while the East tightens behind them
On the other side of the country, the Boston Celtics continue to look like the East’s measuring stick. Jayson Tatum once again led the way with efficient scoring, mixing step-back jumpers with drives to the cup and keeping the offense humming. Even on nights when his three-point stroke comes and goes, Tatum’s ability to draw help and set up teammates has been a quiet driver of Boston’s dominance.
Jaylen Brown chipped in with his usual downhill aggression, piling up points in transition and putting pressure on smaller wings. Boston’s defense rotated on a string, switching seamlessly, closing out to shooters and funneling drives toward help. It was not a headline-grabbing thriller, but it was the kind of professional win that top seeds stack while everyone else fights for survival.
In crunchtime, the Celtics calmly executed, getting to their pet sets, targeting matchups and trusting their spacing. That composure is what keeps them perched near the top of the conference while teams like the Bucks, Sixers and Knicks jockey for positioning behind them.
Warriors, Mavs and Nuggets: Star power keeps the West on edge
Out West, the Golden State Warriors continue to live and die by Stephen Curry’s jumper, and last night he delivered another shooting clinic. Curry logged a high-20s scoring night with multiple bombs from well beyond the arc, including a pair of deep threes that completely flipped momentum in the third quarter. The box score did not need a career-high to tell the story; the eye test was enough. Every time he crossed half court, the defense panicked.
For the Mavericks, Luka Doncic once again flirted with a monster triple-double, piling up points, rebounds and assists while orchestrating nearly every possession. His usage rate remains sky-high, but his efficiency and vision keep Dallas in almost every game. There were stretches where his step-back three was unguardable, and when the defense tried to trap, he sliced them up with cross-court lasers to shooters in the corners. The Mavericks’ entire playoff picture hinges on whether Doncic can continue to carry this kind of load into April and May without wearing down.
And then there’s Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, who just keep grinding out wins behind his effortless brilliance. Jokic posted another massive line with over 25 points, double-digit rebounds and a stack of assists, one of those box scores that feels routine but would be a headline for almost anyone else. The chemistry with Jamal Murray looked sharp, especially in the two-man game down the stretch, where Jokic’s patience and touch picked apart single coverage and late doubles.
How the current NBA standings are shaping the playoff picture
The latest results squeezed the gap between the middle-tier seeds and the play-in hopefuls. One or two losses now can drop a team two lines in the bracket, and every tiebreaker suddenly matters. Here is a compact snapshot of how the top of each conference is lining up based on the most recent official standings from NBA.com and ESPN:
| East Rank | Team | Record | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtics | Best-in-conference | Steady at top |
| 2 | Bucks | Top-tier | Chasing No. 1 |
| 3 | 76ers | Upper tier | Health-dependent |
| 4 | Knicks | Solid | Climbing |
| 5 | Cavaliers | Solid | On the bubble for top 4 |
The Celtics look locked into a premium seed if they avoid a late slump, but the real chaos is in the 4–8 range, where one cold shooting week can send a team from home-court advantage to fighting for its life in the play-in.
| West Rank | Team | Record | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nuggets | Top-tier | Jokic steady |
| 2 | Timberwolves | Top-tier | Elite defense |
| 3 | Thunder | Top-tier | Surging youth |
| 4 | Clippers | Upper tier | Veteran core |
| 5 | Lakers | Middle tier | Rising after key wins |
This is where the tension spikes. The Nuggets feel like the safest bet to stay near the top as long as Jokic is healthy. The Timberwolves and Thunder are fighting to prove their seasons are no fluke, while the Clippers, Lakers, Warriors and Suns are all trying to avoid the razor edge of the play-in. Every head-to-head clash between those teams is basically a four-point swing in the NBA standings.
Player stats: MVP race and stars in attack mode
The MVP race remains wide open, and last night did not do anything to calm that storm. Jokic added another near-triple-double to his season-long highlight reel, showcasing his absurd efficiency: high-20s points on well over 50 percent shooting, double-digit boards and elite playmaking. Nothing looks forced, nothing looks rushed; he controls tempo like a point guard in a center’s body.
Doncic kept pace with another gaudy line, scoring in the 30s with close to double-digit rebounds and assists. The raw player stats are absurd, and so is the usage. He is touching the ball on almost every possession, yet still finding ways to create quality looks late in games. If Dallas finishes high enough in the West, voters will have a hard time ignoring how much of their offense flows directly through him.
Tatum, meanwhile, may not always chase box-score explosions, but his two-way impact is hard to miss. Efficient mid-20s scoring with strong defense on wings and bigs keeps Boston’s net rating sky-high. There is an argument that his value is locked into the Celtics’ elite record as much as his raw numbers.
LeBron remains the league’s timeless variable. His line from last night hovered around the 25–30 point mark with strong rebounding and playmaking. The way he picked apart switches in the fourth quarter looked more like a seasoned quarterback than a forward. If the Lakers keep climbing, there will at least be noise about his late-season push, even if the trophy likely goes to a younger star.
Then there is Curry, forever the gravity well. His three-point barrage in the third completely changed the Warriors’ game, and his efficiency from deep remains near the top of the league. He may not lead the MVP ladder right now, but any given night he can post 35 points on a handful of dribbles and blow open a game with one flurry from downtown.
Injuries, rotations and the thin margin for error
Injury updates continue to hover over the playoff hunt. Several contenders are managing star players through minor knocks and load-management nights, tinkering with rotations while trying not to sacrifice seeding. Coaches are walking a tightrope: maximize chemistry now or prioritize health in April.
For a team like the Lakers, even a brief absence for Davis could re-open defensive issues that have been patched up during this recent run. For the Nuggets, any setback for Jokic or Murray would shift them from favorites to vulnerable instantly. And in Boston, keeping Tatum and Brown fresh without losing rhythm is the ongoing balance.
Role players are quietly rewriting the script, too. Second units that defend, run and hit open threes can swing a series. Last night’s games showcased a handful of bench sparks who brought energy, forced turnovers and hit just enough shots to keep starters’ minutes under control. Those little contributions rarely headline the box score, but in a long season they are the difference between a safe top seed and a nervous final week.
What’s next: must-watch games and how the pressure builds
The coming days are loaded with games that feel bigger than their place on the calendar. Any showdown between the Lakers and other Western contenders has direct seeding implications. Boston’s next clashes with East rivals will test whether the chasing pack can tighten the gap at the top. Matchups featuring the Nuggets, Mavericks and Warriors will double as MVP race spotlights, with Jokic, Doncic and Curry each trying to carve out a signature stretch.
The NBA standings will keep shifting with every back-to-back, every rest night and every fourth-quarter run. Fans tracking live scores will see swings in real time: a double-digit lead erased in a few minutes, a clutch three turning a season series, a last-second defensive stop saving a tiebreaker months down the line.
If the trend of the last couple of nights holds, expect more shootouts, more crunchtime drama and more box scores that look straight out of a video game. The names are familiar – LeBron, Tatum, Curry, Jokic, Doncic – but the stakes feel a little higher with every game off the calendar. Stay locked in, because the road to the playoffs is already playing like a best-of-seven.
