NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers climb, Tatum’s Celtics hold firm as Curry keeps Warriors alive
09.02.2026 - 01:57:37
The NBA standings just got another jolt. In a night loaded with playoff-level intensity, LeBron James powered the Lakers to a critical win, Jayson Tatum kept the Celtics steady near the top of the East, and Stephen Curry once again dragged the Warriors offense with him. With every result, the Western and Eastern Conference pictures tighten, and every possession suddenly feels like it belongs in April.
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Across the league, box scores from the last 24 hours painted a familiar story: stars carrying massive loads, role players swinging momentum, and the NBA standings shifting by inches that will feel like miles once the playoff bracket locks in. The Lakers looked like a team nobody will want to see in a seven-game series, the Celtics continued to flex top-seed poise, and Curry reminded everyone that as long as he is on the floor, Golden State cannot be written off.
Game Recap: Lakers crank up the pressure in the West
LeBron James once again turned a regular-season night into a statement game. Facing a conference rival fighting for the same mid-table real estate, the Lakers played like their playoff lives were already on the line. LeBron stuffed the box score with a near-triple-double, attacking the rim, punishing switches in the post, and dissecting traps with skip passes to open shooters. It was the kind of performance that does not just win a game; it tilts the narrative around the entire Western Conference race.
The real separator for Los Angeles was their defense in crunchtime. They switched more aggressively, walled off the paint, and trusted their backline to clean the glass. Anthony Davis controlled the boards and altered everything inside, finishing with a dominant double-double in points and rebounds while erasing drives at the rim. One opposing guard admitted afterward, in so many words, that once Davis started timing every contest, "it felt like we were driving into a forest of arms."
On the perimeter, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell hit timely threes from downtown, punishing every late closeout. In the fourth quarter, the Lakers offense simplified: LeBron orchestrated high ball screens, read the tag defender, and either kicked to shooters or attacked the mismatch. It was grown-man basketball, the kind that tends to travel come playoff time.
The victory nudged the Lakers up the NBA standings into a more comfortable Play-In position, and with the schedule softening slightly over the next week, the door is open for them to climb into the top six if they can string wins together. Given LeBron’s current level and Davis’ two-way dominance, that suddenly feels less like a dream and more like a realistic goal.
Celtics steady the ship: Tatum keeps the East under control
While the West feels chaotic, the Boston Celtics continue to operate like a machine at the top of the Eastern Conference. Jayson Tatum delivered another smooth, efficient scoring night, controlling pace and tempo instead of forcing hero shots. His shot chart once again lived at the most efficient spots: catch-and-shoot threes, straight-line drives, and trips to the free-throw line.
Jaylen Brown backed him with strong two-way play, hunting mismatches in the mid-post and putting pressure on opposing guards defensively. Boston’s depth, from Derrick White’s playmaking to Jrue Holiday’s point-of-attack defense, allowed the Celtics to weather runs without overtaxing their stars. The vibe in the building felt almost like a casual playoff rehearsal, crowd roaring on every defensive stop, yet there was never real panic that the game would slip away.
Their latest win kept Boston in prime position at or near the top of the conference, and the advanced metrics keep screaming the same message: elite net rating, top-tier defense, and an offense that can morph from iso-heavy to ball-movement heavy on the fly. In the context of the NBA standings, the Celtics are less concerned with whether they finish first or second and more focused on staying healthy and tuned up for the first round.
Curry’s Warriors: living on a razor’s edge
Out West, Stephen Curry once again shouldered a massive scoring load just to keep the Golden State Warriors in shouting distance of the Play-In mix. The final box score read like a familiar script: well over 30 points, multiple bombs from deep, and stretches where he single-handedly silenced the opposing crowd.
But the story behind those numbers is more complicated. The Warriors continue to live on the margins defensively, struggling to protect the paint and close possessions on the glass. Draymond Green remains the emotional engine and defensive quarterback, but any time he sits, the cohesion slips. Curry’s gravity generates open looks, but inconsistent shooting nights from the supporting cast keep inviting opponents back into games that should be closed early.
Still, with Curry in full flamethrower mode, Golden State refuses to fade. One rival coach summed it up afterward, paraphrased: "You can game-plan for their sets, but there is no game plan for Curry when he starts hitting 30-footers off the dribble." For now, the Warriors are clinging to the lower end of the Play-In race. Every made three from Curry feels less like a highlight and more like life support.
Where the NBA standings sit now: contenders, climbers, and the bubble
The overnight shuffle did not blow up the conferences, but it tightened the screws. Here is a compact look at the top of each conference and the heart of the Play-In race based on the latest confirmed results:
| East Rank | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtics | Comfortably in playoff bracket |
| 2 | Bucks | Chasing top seed |
| 3 | 76ers | Firm playoff spot |
| 7 | Heat | Play-In range, dangerous |
| 10 | Hawks | On the bubble |
| West Rank | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nuggets | Title favorite tier |
| 2 | Timberwolves | Home-court track |
| 3 | Thunder | Rising contender |
| 8 | Lakers | Climbing into Play-In |
| 10 | Warriors | Hanging on to Play-In |
At the top, Denver remains in that "you have to beat the champs" zone, with Nikola Jokic stacking triple-doubles and anchoring a ruthless, playoff-tested offense. Minnesota and Oklahoma City continue to hound them, one with size and defense, the other with pace and fearless youth. But the real nightly drama is happening between seeds six and eleven, where the Lakers, Mavericks, Kings, and Warriors are essentially locked in a multi-week cage match.
In the East, Boston and Milwaukee still feel like the class of the conference when healthy, but the third through eighth spots are fluid. Miami is once again lurking in that annoying, spoiler-ready territory, while teams like the Knicks, Cavaliers, and Pacers shuffle up and down depending on injuries and back-to-backs. One bad week can send a team from home-court advantage to a Play-In scare.
MVP race and individual brilliance: Joki?, Giannis, Luka, and the chasing pack
The latest wave of box scores did not settle the MVP race; it made it messier. Nikola Jokic continues to post video-game numbers, with another night flirting with a triple-double, mixing soft-touch floaters with laser-beam passes out of double teams. Giannis Antetokounmpo remains a nightly 30-and-10 threat, bullying his way to the rim, grabbing rebounds in traffic, and igniting transition runs.
Luka Doncic, meanwhile, keeps stuffing player stats with absurd usage: step-back threes, pocket passes in pick-and-roll, and a steady diet of free throws. On any given night, the MVP conversation swings with whoever just dropped the latest 40-point masterpiece. The advanced numbers favor Jokic’s all-around efficiency, but the narrative weight of Giannis and Luka carrying heavy offensive loads keeps the debate open.
On the perimeter, players like Jayson Tatum and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are not going away quietly. Tatum’s combination of two-way impact and winning at the top of the East forces his name into every serious ballot projection, while SGA’s off-the-dribble creation and relentless pressure at the rim have transformed Oklahoma City from a fun young team into a Western threat.
Then there is LeBron. He may not lead the MVP odds, but nights like the one he just posted are why fans and analysts keep wondering if age has any meaning left for him. His player stats do not look like a "Year 21" line; they look like something a star in his prime would gladly sign for. As long as he is putting up efficient 25-plus points with high-level playmaking, the Lakers’ ceiling will outstrip their seed.
Injuries, absences, and what they mean for the playoff picture
The other, less glamorous force shaping the NBA standings right now is the injury report. Teams near the top, like the Celtics and Nuggets, are managing minor dings carefully, choosing rest nights on back-to-backs to keep stars fresh. Others do not have that luxury: one or two starters down and suddenly a comfortable cushion in the standings starts to shrink.
Coaches around the league sounded similar notes over the last 24 hours. The message, paraphrased, goes something like this: the priority is being healthy for the postseason, but the margin for error in the standings is so small that every night feels like a must-win. That tension is why rotations are still running tight in late-season games and why some stars are playing heavy minutes despite lingering issues.
For bubble teams like the Lakers and Warriors, any extended absence for a star would be devastating. Without LeBron or Davis, Los Angeles’ offense bogs down into isolation-heavy play without the same passing juice. Without Curry, Golden State’s entire offensive identity collapses. Front offices know it, coaching staffs feel it, and you can sense it in the way every timeout is treated like a mini-playoff huddle.
What’s next: must-watch matchups and the road ahead
The next few days on the schedule will crank the pressure even higher. There are head-to-head clashes between Play-In hopefuls that will swing tiebreakers, and heavyweight showdowns between top seeds that could decide home-court advantage. Expect at least one more reshuffle in the NBA standings by the end of the weekend.
Keep an eye on any matchup featuring the Lakers, Warriors, Mavericks, and Kings in the West. One hot shooting night or one off defensive effort could be the difference between finishing seventh or eleventh. In the East, contests involving the Heat, Hawks, and any team in that four-to-eight range will set the tone for the stretch run.
For fans, this is the sweet spot of the season: every game feels bigger, stars lean into playoff workloads, and the drama is baked into every closing possession. If the last 24 hours were any indication, we are in for more thrillers, more breakout player stats, and more wild swings in seeding before the bracket finally locks.
Stay locked in, keep one eye on the live scores and another on the evolving playoff picture, and be ready for the next signature night from LeBron, Tatum, Curry, or whoever decides to hijack the MVP race with a monster performance. The standings will keep moving. The only guarantee is that the intensity is not going anywhere.
