NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers surge, Tatum’s Celtics hold line as Curry, Jokic eye top seeds
02.02.2026 - 10:39:45 | ad-hoc-news.de
The NBA Standings got another late-season jolt last night, with LeBron James pushing the Lakers closer to safety, Jayson Tatum keeping the Celtics steady on top, and Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic grinding through a brutal battle for seeding. It felt less like a random midweek slate and more like an extended Playoff Picture dress rehearsal.
[Check live stats & scores here]
Across the league, contenders tightened screws on defense, stars hunted mismatches in crunchtime, and every possession looked like it could swing tiebreakers that will define April and May. The NBA Standings might say "regular season" on paper, but the energy in these arenas is pure postseason.
Game Recap & Highlights: Lakers climb, Warriors grind, Celtics manage the long game
In Los Angeles, LeBron James once again dictated tempo and tone. The Lakers did not just win, they controlled the game with a physical, switch-heavy defense and a deliberate pace that let LeBron quarterback every halfcourt possession. Afterward, the staff kept hammering the same line: limit live-ball turnovers, own the glass, and let your stars close.
LeBron responded with a classic all-around line, flirting with a triple-double and pacing the team in both scoring and playmaking. It was not just the raw Player Stats – it was the timing. He hunted mismatches in the post, punished small defenders, then kicked out to shooters drifting to the corners. By the time the fourth quarter hit, the opposing defense had simply run out of counters.
The crowd inside Crypto.com Arena felt that urgency. Every stop triggered a roar, and each LeBron drive to the rim looked more like a statement than a simple two points. The Lakers have spent much of the year hovering around the Play-In line; performances like this are why no one up top really wants to see them in a seven-game series.
Up the coast, Stephen Curry and the Warriors were back in familiar territory – grinding through another must-win battle with Play-In implications all over it. Curry’s shooting gravity changed every possession, even when he did not touch the ball. Defenders chased him off every screen, opening up driving lanes for teammates and clean looks from downtown for role players who simply had to step into the moment.
Golden State’s Game Highlights were not just Curry pull-ups from 30 feet. It was the way they defended at the point of attack, the second-unit energy minutes, the contested rebounds in traffic. After the game, the vibe from the Warriors locker room was simple: survive, then advance up the seed line one game at a time.
In Boston, the Celtics played the long game. Jayson Tatum did not need to drop 40; instead he managed the game, switched across multiple positions, and picked his spots as a scorer. It was a professional, businesslike effort from a team that knows it is being judged on June, not February. The Celtics staff has been clear: keep legs fresh, keep execution sharp, and keep the 1-seed in the East locked down.
Tatum quietly stacked a strong line with efficient scoring and solid work on the glass. Even when the shot was not falling early, he impacted the game with his passing out of double-teams and his willingness to defend bigger wings in space. The result: another win that keeps Boston perched near the top of the NBA Standings and on track for home-court advantage all the way through the East bracket.
The Standings: East and West races get tighter
With last night’s results, the Playoff Picture on both sides tightened again. A couple of swing games between tier-two contenders and desperate Play-In hopefuls turned the middle of the table into traffic jams.
In the East, Boston stayed in control, while a cluster behind them continues to trade blows every night. Milwaukee, New York, Philadelphia and Cleveland are locked in a constant shuffle, with every minor winning streak or skid showing up immediately in the standings. Boston’s margin may look comfortable, but a bad week can erase perceived separation quickly.
Out West, Denver and Oklahoma City are fighting for the top line, while Minnesota, the Clippers, Phoenix and Dallas slalom between health, rhythm, and brutal schedule pockets. The Lakers and Warriors remain firmly in the Play-In conversation, yet no one up top is treating them like typical lower seeds. There is too much pedigree, too much shot-making, and way too much LeBron and Curry for any comfort.
Here is a snapshot of where some of the key teams stand right now in the race for seeding:
| Conference | Team | Seed | W | L | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Boston Celtics | 1 | — | — | Holding top spot |
| East | Milwaukee Bucks | 2 | — | — | Chasing 1-seed |
| West | Denver Nuggets | 1 | — | — | Neck-and-neck race |
| West | Oklahoma City Thunder | 2 | — | — | Chasing Denver |
| West | Los Angeles Lakers | Play-In | — | — | Climbing |
| West | Golden State Warriors | Play-In | — | — | Fighting to stay in |
(Note: For exact win-loss records and full NBA Standings in real time, hit the official league pages; numbers shift nightly as results go final.)
The top tier in each conference looks reasonably secure, but the real chaos lives between seeds 4 and 10. One week of hot shooting can yank a team out of the Play-In and into home-court territory in round one. One poorly timed injury or road-heavy stretch can send them sliding the other way just as fast.
MVP Race & Player Performance: Jokic, Tatum, Luka, Giannis
No conversation about this season’s MVP Race starts without Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets center has turned efficient dominance into routine, stacking absurd Player Stats like 30-point triple-doubles on high shooting splits. Last night, even in a grind-it-out game, Jokic was the system. Every touch from the elbow felt inevitable: slip screens, backdoor cuts, shooters waiting weak-side, and a soft floater if the defense stayed home.
From the Denver bench, the message was familiar: when Jokic is orchestrating like this, everyone eats. His impact shows up everywhere, from on/off numbers to late-game composure. Even on nights when his scoring dips, the way he bends a defense turns every possession into a math problem the opponent cannot solve for 48 minutes.
Jayson Tatum remains a pillar of Boston’s two-way identity. His scoring burst still decides games, but his defensive versatility and rebounding have been just as critical in keeping the Celtics locked near the top of the NBA Standings. Tatum’s recent stretch has featured multiple 30-plus outings with strong efficiency, plus nights where he shifted into more of a connector role, letting Jaylen Brown and the shooters carry the scoring load.
Down in Dallas, Luka Doncic continues to stack outrageous box scores. When he has the stepback three working, defenses essentially have to choose between getting roasted off the dribble or dying by a barrage from deep. His usage is sky-high, his decision-making under pressure keeps improving, and the Mavericks’ offense hums whenever he can dictate matchups and manipulate help defense. The question is whether Dallas can win enough, often enough, to keep him firmly in the top tier of the MVP Race.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, as ever, is a one-man fast break. Milwaukee leans on his relentless rim pressure to generate free throws and collapse defenses. Even on off shooting nights, Giannis carves out impact with putbacks, transition sprints and hard closeouts on the other end. In a year where several stars are putting up historic numbers, Giannis is quietly having one of his most efficient scoring seasons, and the Bucks’ seeding will heavily influence how loudly his candidacy rings down the stretch.
Behind that elite core is another group of dark-horse names – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander carrying OKC into the top tier of the West, Joel Embiid looming whenever healthy, and Curry doing Curry things for a Warriors group that absolutely cannot afford many missteps.
Injuries, rotations and whispers around the league
The other thing shaping the Playoff Picture right now: availability. Coaches sounded more like triage coordinators last night, monitoring minutes, testing small-ball groups, and stealing rest for banged-up stars wherever possible.
Several contenders remain cautious with minor injuries, holding key players out of back-to-backs or trimming rotations when games get out of hand early. The message is consistent across locker rooms: nobody wants to chase a marginal jump in the NBA Standings at the cost of a major setback for a franchise cornerstone.
On the trade and rumor front, executives are already eyeing the fringes of their rotations. A backup big who can rebound and defend without needing the ball, a 3-and-D wing who can survive in crunchtime lineups, a secondary ball handler to stabilize non-star minutes – these are the archetypes on every contender’s board. There is no blockbuster noise right now, but front offices are watching buyout candidates and minor moves that can steal a playoff game in May.
Coaches around the league keep coming back to the same theme in postgame media: simplicity. Take care of the ball, win the rebounding battle, defend without fouling, and trust your stars to manufacture enough halfcourt offense down the stretch. In close games last night, the teams that did that looked like playoff versions of themselves already.
What’s next: Must-watch games and pressure points
The next few days are loaded with matchups that will leave fingerprints all over the NBA Standings. The Lakers and Warriors both face opponents above them in the West, turning routine regular-season dates into four-point swings for the Playoff Picture. Every win steals ground; every loss hands leverage to a direct rival.
In the East, Boston will get another test against a physical, defensive-minded opponent that will try to shove them off their spots and dare their role players to hit open threes. Milwaukee and New York face tricky schedule stretches that could either solidify their positions or invite pressure from the teams immediately behind them.
Fans should circle clashes featuring Jokic’s Nuggets and Curry’s Warriors, along with any game where LeBron’s Lakers or Tatum’s Celtics see another top-6 opponent. Those feel like preview chapters for playoff series we will probably revisit when the stakes are win-or-go-home.
The trend lines are clear: stars are ramping up, rotations are tightening, and margins are shrinking. The NBA Standings will keep flipping rows night after night, but a few truths are settling in. Nobody wants to see LeBron in a single-elimination setting. Nobody feels comfortable giving Curry two open threes in the final minute. And nobody trusts that Jokic will ever have an off night when it really matters.
Stay locked in on the upcoming slate, hit the official sites for Live Scores and full Player Stats, and enjoy what already feels like a long, slow sprint toward the real thing. Every possession between now and April is building the bracket.
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