NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers surge as Celtics, Jokic and Curry rewrite the race
30.01.2026 - 08:28:27
The NBA Standings tightened again over the last 24 hours, with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers climbing, the Boston Celtics holding their ground, Nikola Jokic putting up another absurd stat line and Stephen Curry lighting it up from downtown. The playoff picture keeps shifting almost nightly, and this latest round of games felt a lot like an early postseason stress test across the league.
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Late-night drama: Lakers grind, contenders answer
LeBron James did not put up a 50-piece or a viral chase-down block, but he controlled tempo, orchestrated the offense and made just enough plays in crunchtime to keep the Lakers’ climb alive. His blend of scoring, playmaking and composure once again stabilized a team that has flirted with the Play-In line all season. The box score told the story: efficient shooting, near double-digit assists, and a plus-minus that mirrored Los Angeles’ best stretches on the floor.
Anthony Davis, meanwhile, anchored the defense and owned the glass. The combination of rim protection and second-chance scoring gave the Lakers the kind of interior dominance they absolutely need if they want to avoid another Play-In gauntlet. This was not a highlight-reel blowout; it was a grown-up, grind-it-out win that moved the needle in the Western Conference playoff picture.
Out East, the Celtics once again looked like a team that understands the long game. Jayson Tatum’s scoring came in waves rather than one massive avalanche, but whenever the offense bogged down, he delivered. Jaylen Brown complemented him with downhill drives and physical defense on the perimeter. Boston’s balance continues to show up in the Player Stats and, more importantly, in the standings: they stay perched near the top while others yo-yo between hot streaks and mini-slumps.
Further west, Nikola Jokic produced the kind of line that has basically become normal for him and still feels unfair. He flirted with yet another triple-double, picking apart defenses with pocket passes, off-ball screens and those soft hooks in the paint. Denver’s offense flowed every time he touched the ball at the elbows. Watching the Game Highlights, you can see defenders decide between staying home on shooters or sending a late double; Jokic punished both options, keeping the Nuggets within touching distance of the conference’s elite tier in the current NBA standings.
Stephen Curry, for his part, turned another routine regular-season night into a shooting clinic. The off-ball movement, the relocation threes, the pull-ups from well beyond the arc — it all popped again. When he heats up like this, it changes defensive game plans on the fly and reminds everyone why, even in a crowded MVP Race, his gravity remains unmatched.
How the NBA Standings look after the dust settled
The scoreboard shuffle of the last 24 hours mattered because of where these teams sit. Every win, every blown lead, every late defensive stop stacks up in a race where just a couple of games separate home-court advantage from a sudden-death Play-In trip.
Here is a snapshot of how the top of each conference looks right now, based on the latest official listings from the league site and ESPN:
| East Rank | Team | W | L | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | – | – | – |
| 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | – | – | – |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | – | – | – |
| 4 | Cleveland Cavaliers | – | – | – |
| 5 | New York Knicks | – | – | – |
And out West, the usual suspects are still circling the top, with tiny margins separating seeds and setting up potential Playoff Picture chaos:
| West Rank | Team | W | L | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver Nuggets | – | – | – |
| 2 | Minnesota Timberwolves | – | – | – |
| 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | – | – | – |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | – | – | – |
| 5 | Los Angeles Lakers | – | – | – |
Exact win-loss records keep shifting by the night, but the hierarchy at the top is clear: Boston has built a small but meaningful cushion in the East, while Denver and a young, fearless Oklahoma City group headline the West. For teams like the Lakers, every time they string together a couple of wins, they not only inch up the board but also put pressure on teams above them who thought they had breathing room.
Underneath the elite tier, the battle for Play-In positioning is where things get downright nasty. A mini-slide can drop you from sixth to tenth; a three-game winning streak can flip you from the bubble into a first-round series where you suddenly have home court. Coaches are already talking like it is April: tighter rotations, fewer experimental lineups, more emphasis on matchups and late-game execution.
Box score stars: who owned the night
Every night in this league, someone explodes. The last slate of games was no exception, and while multiple stars filled up the Player Stats columns, a few performances stood out.
LeBron was the engine behind the Lakers’ win, dictating pace and making every key read late. He mixed drives, post touches and step-back jumpers, then shifted into pure facilitator mode when the defense collapsed. Even when his scoring dipped in stretches, his fingerprints were all over the box score, from rebounds in traffic to hit-ahead passes that turned into easy transition buckets.
Anthony Davis delivered the kind of full two-way performance that has every analyst saying the same thing: when he plays with this force, the Lakers look like a legitimate top-tier threat rather than just another Play-In hopeful. His work on the glass and as a back-line quarterback erased mistakes at the point of attack and created extra trips down the floor.
Jayson Tatum’s outing screamed control more than chaos. He picked his spots, punished mismatches and used the threat of his step-back three to get downhill. The Celtics star has been stacking games like this all year, and while the MVP chatter has cycled through names, his steady production and Boston’s place atop the NBA Standings keep him firmly on the radar.
Nikola Jokic did what Nikola Jokic does: score just enough to keep defenses honest, rebound everything in his area and fire passes that only he seems to see. Another near triple-double feels strangely routine now, but it is exactly why Denver sits where it does in the West, with an offense that hums regardless of pace or opponent.
Stephen Curry’s Game Highlights told you everything about his current form. The defense might do everything right for 20 seconds, only to watch him slip behind a screen and bury a three that drains the life out of a building. His combination of shot-making and gravity continues to give Golden State a puncher’s chance on almost any given night, even as the standings remind them there is no room for extended slumps.
Who is sliding, who is rising
Not every big name is riding high right now. A couple of would-be contenders are stuck in uneven stretches where defensive lapses and cold outside shooting have turned winnable games into heartbreaker losses. Coaches keep preaching focus and details, but the tape shows miscommunications on switches, late closeouts and too many empty trips where the ball sticks.
Some young cores, on the other hand, are trending the other way. Upstart squads in both conferences have been stacking quiet, low-drama wins thanks to disciplined defense and unselfish offense. They may not have the star wattage of a LeBron or a Curry, but their profile — top-10 in net rating, strong clutch-time performance — has them lurking as first-round upset candidates.
MVP Race and the stars reshaping the season
The MVP Race right now feels like a rotating spotlight between Jokic, Tatum and a handful of elite perimeter creators. Jokic has the numbers and the eye test; Tatum has the wins and the two-way presence; other stars are stacking monster box scores to keep their names in the conversation.
Jokic’s case is simple: elite efficiency, near triple-double averages, and a Denver offense that craters when he sits. His ability to control the geometry of the floor is unmatched. Whether it is a 30-point night on 60 percent shooting or a game where he takes fewer shots but racks up assists, his impact bleeds into every offensive possession.
Tatum’s pitch is different but just as compelling. Boston’s net rating with him on the court is elite, and his willingness to defend bigger wings while still carrying the scoring load sets the tone for the Celtics as a group. His points may not always come in neon-flashing 50-burgers, but the consistent 25-to-30 range on strong efficiency, plus playmaking growth, is exactly what voters look at in April.
LeBron is not leading the field, but every time he drags the Lakers to another statement win, the conversation stirs again. His counting stats paired with age-defying durability and fourth-quarter shot-making keep him in the broader narrative, even if the raw MVP odds favor younger superstars.
And then there is Curry, still the definition of “offensive ecosystem” in one human. When he strings together these fast-burst scoring runs, the Warriors’ Live Scores spike in a hurry. If Golden State can stabilize its record and climb meaningfully in the NBA Standings, it would be impossible to ignore what he has done with the ball and without it.
Injuries, tweaks and the what-if factor
The other subplot quietly shaping the season: health. A couple of high-impact players are nursing nagging issues that coaches insist are short term, but every missed game reshuffles rotations and tests depth. Front offices watch these stretches closely, gauging whether they need another defender on the wing, a backup ballhandler or simply a healthy version of the stars they already have.
For teams on the title track, there is a razor-thin line between “managing the workload” and “dropping too many games while waiting to get right.” A sore knee here, a tight hamstring there, and suddenly you are not chasing the 2-seed; you are clinging to home-court advantage in round one.
What is next: must-watch matchups and pressure points
The upcoming slate is loaded with games that will ripple through the Playoff Picture. A Lakers showdown with another Western contender is going to feel like a mini-playoff game, with LeBron and Davis trying to send yet another message that Los Angeles is more than a fringe threat. Every defensive possession will matter, especially against elite guards who can stress the Lakers’ perimeter coverage.
Boston has a tricky stretch against teams that can really shoot, a perfect test for a Celtics defense that has been dominant at home but occasionally leaky in transition. Tatum and Brown will get plenty of attention for their buckets, but the more telling storyline may be how their bigs handle pick-and-rolls in space.
Denver and Jokic face opponents with size and physicality, a reminder that playoff basketball often comes down to how well you can defend the paint and survive on the boards. Expect another round of Jokic masterclasses in reading double-teams, with shooters spaced and cutters slicing in behind sleeping defenders.
Curry and the Warriors, meanwhile, do not have the luxury of treating anything like a schedule loss. Every game is a mini-final if they want to climb out of the middle pack. Look for Golden State to lean even harder into small-ball lineups that maximize spacing and pace, gambling that their offense can outrun some of their defensive shortcomings.
All of it feeds back into the one page every fan keeps refreshing: the official NBA Standings. With margins this thin and stars playing at this level, a single cold shooting night or a surprise road win can redraw the bracket in real time. So keep one eye on the box scores, another on the MVP chatter, and both on the live ticker, because this stretch of the season is where separation is earned and narratives are written.
The numbers will keep changing on the league’s site and ESPN, but the themes are clear: Boston’s steady dominance, Denver’s Jokic-fueled machine, the Lakers’ urgent climb behind LeBron and AD, and Curry’s nightly fireworks show. Buckle up; the next week of Live Scores is going to hit like a full-on playoff preview.
