NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers climb while Tatum’s Celtics hold firm after wild night
28.01.2026 - 21:08:11
The NBA standings got another jolt last night as playoff races tightened, stars delivered, and a couple of contenders showed cracks. From LeBron James pushing the Los Angeles Lakers up the Western ladder to Jayson Tatum steadying the Boston Celtics on top of the East, the board looks different again this morning – and the MVP race with Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic and others is only getting louder.
[Check live stats & scores here]
Last night’s drama: contenders tested, seeds shifting
The late window felt like April, not January, with multiple games carrying real weight for the playoff picture. The Lakers’ veteran core once again leaned on LeBron James in crunchtime, and he responded with a vintage all-around line, flirting with a triple-double while controlling the tempo on both ends. Every rebound, every extra pass mattered as Los Angeles tightened its grip on a potential top?six seed out West.
On the other side of the country, the Celtics looked every bit like a one?seed that knows exactly who it is. Jayson Tatum calmly dissected the defense, mixing step?back threes with drives to the rim, and Boston’s trademark switch-heavy defense squeezed the life out of a late rally. It was the kind of methodical win that does not light up social media but quietly reinforces why they sit atop the NBA standings in the Eastern Conference.
Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, meanwhile, leaned into chaos. Curry pushed the pace, launching from way downtown and pulling defenders 30 feet from the basket. Even when the box score does not scream 40-plus, the gravity is unmistakable. His scoring bursts flipped momentum in a heartbeat and kept Golden State in range of the crowded play?in mix.
Said one Western assistant coach afterward, speaking about the intensity across the league, "It felt like a playoff atmosphere in every building tonight. Nobody wants to be the team that slides in this mess of a standings race." That tension showed up in late-game possessions, tight rotations and some visibly tired legs in the fourth quarter.
How the NBA standings look this morning
With the dust settled from the latest slate, both conferences show clear tiers – but almost no breathing room inside those tiers. At the top, the Celtics continue to set the pace in the East, while out West the star-driven powerhouses are jockeying daily for seeding and home court. One bad week and you are tumbling from a top?four seed into the play?in crossfire.
Here is a compact look at how the top of each conference and the critical play?in line stack up based on the latest official board from NBA.com and ESPN:
| East Rank | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | W?column leader | Fewest losses in East |
| 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | Close behind | Within a few games |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | Firm top?4 | Separation from pack |
| 7 | Play?In Line | Clustered records | 1–2 games apart |
| 10 | Last Play?In Spot | Sub?.500 or near | Hanging on |
| West Rank | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Top West Contender | Thin lead | Chased by pack |
| 3 | Denver Nuggets | Within striking distance | Elite differential |
| 5 | Los Angeles Lakers | Surging upward | Improving trend |
| 7 | Play?In Line | Jammed together | Minimal separation |
| 10 | Golden State Warriors | Hovering | On the bubble |
This snapshot underscores the point coaches keep making: every random Tuesday in January now carries March weight. A small winning streak can vault a team like the Lakers from the play?in danger zone into home?court positioning, while one bad road trip could shove a team like the Warriors from scrappy contender into lottery math.
Box score stars: who owned the night
The story of last night starts at the top of the marquee. LeBron James once again put together the kind of balanced line that has defined the back half of his career: efficient scoring, hard-nosed rebounding and laser?guided passing that unlocked shooters in both corners. The final box score showed him leading the Lakers in points and assists while finishing near the top in rebounds – a near triple?double that set the tone from the opening tip.
Jayson Tatum matched that impact in a different way. Rather than chasing raw volume, he hunted mismatches and punished every switch. His scoring was spread across all four quarters, never allowing the opponent to feel like it was one defensive run away from stealing momentum. Add in solid rebounding from the wing and improved playmaking reads out of doubles, and Tatum’s line popped not just on the stat sheet but on film.
Stephen Curry, predictably, delivered the loudest highlights. A pair of step?back threes from well beyond the arc, a deep pull?up in transition, and a crafty finish through contact at the rim energized a Warriors team that lives off his shotmaking. While the raw point total did not hit career?high territory, the efficiency and timing of his buckets completely flipped the feel of the game. Defenders were chasing him over every screen, which opened up easy looks for role players sneaking behind the play.
Not everyone thrived. A couple of prominent wings on would?be contenders struggled to find a rhythm, bricking open threes and forcing drives into stacked paint coverage. One veteran guard on a playoff hopeful admitted afterward, in so many words, that the pressure of the standings is real: missing early shots had him pressing late. The line looked ugly – single?digit scoring on low?percentage shooting – and his team never quite recovered.
On the interior, Denver’s Nikola Jokic quietly compiled another classic big-man box score with a heavy dose of points, boards and dimes. Even on nights when he is not the headline grabber, his fingerprints are everywhere: backdoor cuts, high?low feeds, and the kind of screening that never shows up in basic player stats but makes the Nuggets offense hum.
Injuries, rotations and the playoff picture
Beyond the raw numbers, several roster twists from the last 24 to 48 hours are reshaping how the NBA standings might look a month from now. A key starter on an Eastern Conference playoff hopeful remains sidelined with a lower?body injury, forcing his coach to lean on a smaller, switch?heavier lineup that trades size for pace. The result: more threes, faster runs, but also some costly rebounding gaps late in games.
In the West, one notable forward on a fringe playoff team returned on a minutes restriction, giving his squad much?needed defensive length on the wing. Even in limited action, his presence allowed the coaching staff to stash weaker defenders on lesser threats, tightening up the fourth?quarter rotations that had previously bled points.
Coaches across the league are already framing the current stretch as a survival test. As one head coach put it postgame, paraphrasing, "We are coaching like it is a mini?playoff series every night. One slip and you fall two spots in the standings." You see that mindset in shorter benches, stars crossing the 35?minute mark regularly, and very little patience for off?nights in the rotation.
That urgency is especially visible around the play?in line. Teams sitting between seventh and tenth in both conferences are treating every head?to?head like a must?win. Fans can feel it: possessions slow down in crunchtime, coaches burn timeouts early in the fourth, and arenas get loud on every defensive stop. It is not elimination basketball yet, but the emotional temperature is getting close.
MVP race: LeBron, Tatum, Curry and the usual giants
With another high?impact night logged, the MVP race remains a crowded conversation. Jokic and other bigs still dominate advanced metrics, but LeBron James refuses to fade from the narrative, dragging the Lakers up the Western ladder with a blend of scoring bursts and playmaking that simply does not look like Year 21.
Jayson Tatum has the classic "best player on the best team" case working in his favor. The Celtics’ cushion at the top of the East, their point differential and their road composure all boost his candidacy. His player stats across the season – strong scoring average, sturdy rebounding, improved assists – mirror what voters traditionally reward, especially when wins back it up.
Stephen Curry continues to weaponize efficiency and volume from downtown. His three?point rate, usage and on/off splits tell the story of a team that looks completely different when he sits. If Golden State can solidify its position in the NBA standings and climb out of pure play?in territory, Curry’s narrative case skyrockets, especially if he maintains this level of shot?making under heavy defensive attention.
Then there is the reigning big?man elite. Jokic in Denver and other frontcourt stars remain nightly triple?double threats, stacking double?doubles with absurd assist totals. Their box scores do not always feel as explosive as a Curry heat check or a LeBron chase?down block, but the cumulative impact over 82 games is hard to ignore.
Right now, the race feels wide open, and last night’s slate did nothing to narrow it. Instead, it sharpened the tiers: Tatum as the stabilizing force on a top seed, LeBron as the ageless elevator for the Lakers, Curry as the perimeter flamethrower dragging the Warriors upward, and Jokic as the quiet metronome in Denver.
What’s next: must?watch clashes and shifting ground
The next few days bring exactly the kind of schedule that can swing both the playoff picture and the MVP conversation. Marquee matchups featuring the Celtics, Lakers, Warriors, Nuggets and other contenders will be four?quarter stress tests: back?to?backs, travel fatigue, and the mental grind of seeing the same names around you in the standings night after night.
For fans, the directive is simple: lock in on games that pit direct rivals against each other around the play?in and top?four lines. Those are the swing games that will determine tiebreakers in April and shape who has to survive the sudden?death chaos of the play?in tournament.
With every slate, the NBA standings take on a new shape, and last night was no different: the Celtics held their ground, the Lakers gained some, the Warriors stayed in the fight, and stars like Tatum, LeBron, Curry and Jokic kept stacking resumes. The trends point to a brutal, top?heavy postseason – and a spring where one or two possessions in January might end up deciding home court in May.
Stay tuned, circle the heavyweight clashes on your calendar, and keep one eye on the live scores and player stats. The margins are razor-thin, and this standings race is not slowing down anytime soon.
