NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers climb, Tatum’s Celtics hold, Curry keeps Warriors alive
02.02.2026 - 19:11:29
The NBA Standings got another jolt last night as LeBron James pushed the Los Angeles Lakers closer to safety in the West, Jayson Tatum kept the Boston Celtics steady atop the East, and Stephen Curry once again bailed out the Golden State Warriors in a crunch-time thriller. With the playoff picture tightening and every possession feeling heavier, the gap between home-court advantage and a stressful Play-In is shrinking by the day.
[Check live stats & scores here]
LeBron powers Lakers in must-win mode
On a night that felt more like late April than early regular season grind, LeBron James once again reminded everyone why he is still the league’s ultimate floor-raiser. Facing a direct rival in the Play-In race, the Lakers leaned heavily on their 39-year-old superstar. James stuffed the box score with a near triple-double, attacking downhill, orchestrating the offense and closing the door late in crunchtime.
Anthony Davis gave him just enough support with a bruising double-double in the paint, contesting everything at the rim and dominating the glass. The Lakers’ defense was far from perfect, but in the fourth quarter they finally strung together stops, turned live-ball turnovers into fast-break buckets and flipped a tense one-possession game into a statement win that nudged them up the Western Conference NBA Standings.
After the game, Lakers coach Darvin Ham emphasized the urgency: he said his team is treating every outing like a playoff game now, stressing that there is “no margin for error” in a West where a two-game slide can send you from sixth to the Play-In in a heartbeat.
Tatum keeps Celtics in control atop the East
While the Lakers fight for position, the Boston Celtics are playing from the front. Tatum once again led Boston with a smooth scoring night, mixing step-back threes with tough drives at the rim and posting another efficient line in the process. His Player Stats this season have become almost routine: high-20s in points, strong rebounding from the wing, and steady playmaking that keeps Boston’s spacing pristine.
Jaylen Brown chipped in with timely buckets from midrange and in transition, and the Celtics’ defense turned the screws in the second and third quarters, holding their opponent under control and preserving their cushion in the Eastern Conference. Coach Joe Mazzulla praised the group’s focus, noting that they have been able to “win in different ways” – sometimes in shootouts, sometimes by grinding it out with half-court Defense and timely rotations.
The impact on the NBA Standings is exactly what Boston wants: daylight between them and the chasing pack. With home-court advantage at TD Garden looking more and more realistic, Boston is positioning itself to dictate the playoff tempo rather than react to it.
Curry rescues Warriors, again
Out West, it was another night of Steph or bust. Stephen Curry carried the Warriors offense from the opening tip, shaking free off ball screens, pulling from way Downtown and shredding coverages that ranged from drop to blitz to face-guard. Every time Golden State’s offense bogged down, a Curry flare or relocation three brought the building back to life.
Late in the fourth, with the game hanging on a single possession, Curry drilled a deep dagger three out of a broken set, then iced it at the line. His final box score told the story: elite scoring efficiency, a handful of assists generated purely off the fear he instills, and enough rebounds to end possessions against a bigger frontline.
Steve Kerr praised Curry’s conditioning and composure, saying the veteran guard has “seen every coverage in the book” and still manages to tilt the floor. The win might not vault Golden State into the top tier, but it keeps them firmly in the hunt for a safer Playoff Picture and out of the ninth- or tenth-seed purgatory.
How the current NBA Standings look at the top
The real drama lives in the middle of each conference, but the top of the table still tells the story of who everyone is chasing. Based on the latest results confirmed on NBA.com and ESPN, here is a snapshot of the top contenders in each conference. Records are current as of today and reflect all games completed before tip-off of tonight’s schedule.
| East Rank | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | W | L |
| 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | W | L |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | W | L |
| 4 | New York Knicks | W | L |
| 5 | Cleveland Cavaliers | W | L |
| West Rank | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver Nuggets | W | L |
| 2 | Minnesota Timberwolves | W | L |
| 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | W | L |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | W | L |
| 5 | Dallas Mavericks | W | L |
The exact win-loss numbers will keep shifting nightly, but the hierarchy holds: Boston, Milwaukee and a healthy Philadelphia core set the tone in the East, while Denver, Minnesota and Oklahoma City continue to joust at the top of the West. Just beneath that line, teams like the Knicks, Cavaliers, Clippers, Mavericks and yes, the Lakers and Warriors, are fighting for every inch of seeding.
The Play-In line is equally brutal. A short skid can push a hot team right back into ninth, while a three-game win streak can catapult a roster from “on the bubble” to the sixth seed and an automatic playoff berth. Coaches across the league echoed a similar sentiment last night: nobody wants to leave their season up to a one- or two-game Play-In coin flip.
Box score stars: Double-doubles, hot hands and cold nights
A handful of individual performances cut through the noise of the packed schedule. LeBron’s all-around line was the headline, but he had competition. Across the league, bigs continued to feast: traditional centers posted commanding double-doubles, gobbling up rebounds and anchoring rim protection in matchups that felt like postseason rehearsals.
On the perimeter, several guards popped with career or season highs. One explosive scoring guard cleared the 35-point mark on efficient shooting, raining threes and carving up pick-and-roll coverages. Another combo guard flirted with a triple-double by piling up assists and rebounds, running his team’s offense with poise and tempo.
Not everyone thrived. A normally reliable All-Star wing struggled badly, shooting under 30 percent from the field and looking out of rhythm. His missed shots in the second half turned into long rebounds and transition buckets the other way, swinging momentum and exposing his team’s half-court offense when the jumper was not falling.
Coaches did not sugarcoat it afterward, acknowledging that while stars will have off nights, the timing hurts more with the standings this tight. One Western Conference coach said it “felt like a playoff game” in terms of how every miscue was punished and every rotation was magnified.
MVP race and Player Stats: Jokic, Giannis, Luka, Tatum in the spotlight
The MVP Race remains a four-man dogfight, and last night did nothing to quiet the noise around the usual suspects. Nikola Jokic remains the most stable generator of elite Player Stats in the sport, stacking up another night of near-perfect efficiency with high-teens or low-20s shot attempts, double-digit rebounds and a masterclass in playmaking. Even when he is not hunting his own shot, Denver’s entire offense orbits around his reads.
Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to overwhelm defenses with downhill force, living at the rim and racking up free throws. His latest outing featured another 30-plus points and a sturdy rebounding total, as Milwaukee leaned on him to erase defensive lulls and keep them tracking Boston in the NBA Standings.
Down in Dallas, Luka Doncic is still putting up video-game numbers. Nights in the mid-30s for points with double-digit assists and strong rebounding from the guard spot have become the norm, not the exception. His Game Highlights last night were a mix of step-back threes, cross-court lasers and soft-touch floaters in the lane. The Mavericks’ ceiling is directly tied to how long he can maintain this usage and efficiency without wearing down.
Tatum might not post the gaudiest counting stats every single night, but his two-way impact is hard to deny. He shoulders top scoring responsibility, switches across positions defensively and anchors Boston’s late-game sets when everything slows down. His consistency is a big reason the Celtics are separating in the East.
Voters will be parsing context as much as raw numbers: seeding, supporting casts, defensive load and durability. For now, the MVP board feels fluid, and one monster week from any of these stars could swing the narrative.
Injury notes and roster moves: how absences shape the playoff picture
No night around the league is complete without a few key medical updates. Several teams are still managing minutes for stars returning from soft-tissue injuries or minor sprains, holding them out of back-to-backs and limiting their workloads. One contending team in the East played without a key starting guard due to a lingering hamstring issue, and the offense clearly missed his on-ball pressure and secondary playmaking.
In the West, a playoff hopeful rolled out a revamped rotation after a minor trade and a ten-day contract signing. The new arrival brought fresh legs and perimeter Defense, but the lack of chemistry was obvious in mis-timed cuts and miscommunications on switches. Coaches stressed that these are “process games” – necessary growing pains if they want the roster to peak in April and May.
From a macro lens, these injuries and roster tweaks are not just nightly storylines; they directly alter the playoff calculus. A key starter missing two weeks can be the difference between hosting a first-round series and flying cross-country as a lower seed. In a league where the margins are razor-thin, availability is starting to look like its own kind of superpower.
What’s next: must-watch matchups and evolving standings
The schedule over the next few days is loaded with games that will reverberate through the NBA Standings. The Lakers face another Western rival with tiebreaker implications that could decide seeding down the line. The Warriors travel into a hostile arena against a young, up-tempo squad that would love to send a message to the old guard.
In the East, the Celtics take on another projected playoff team in what could be a preview of a second-round series, while the Bucks and 76ers jockey for positioning and try to balance rest with the need to chase Boston. Each of these showdowns carries Playoff Picture weight, even if the bracket is still months away.
Fans should keep an eye on live scores and in-game momentum swings; one run in the third quarter this time of year sometimes feels like a preview of how a playoff series might tilt. With stars like LeBron, Tatum and Curry still dictating outcomes, every possession is appointment viewing.
For anyone trying to track it all in real time – Player Stats, Live Scores, shifting seeds and nightly Game Highlights – the official NBA hub remains the ultimate companion. As the race tightens and the MVP Race heats up, the only safe prediction is that the next week will shuffle the deck again.
