NBA Standings 2018-2019: Lakers Gain Ground On Warriors, Rockets Move Up With Win Over Thunder

A couple of Western Conference contenders picked up big wins on Christmas as they look to climb the 2018-2019 NBA Standings. The Los Angeles Lakers (20-14) beat the Golden State Warriors (23-12) 127-101, and the Houston Rockets (18-15) topped the Oklahoma City Thunder (21-12) 113-109.

Los Angeles had the most surprising win on the holiday. The Lakers dominated the defending champions on the road, and they did it mostly without their only superstar. LeBron James had 17 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in 21 minutes until he was forced to leave the contest for good with a groin injury.

L.A. is calling James’ injury a groin strain, and it sounds like James won’t miss much time if any at all. The team thrived Tuesday when James was in the locker room, but having to play without the NBA’s best player for any stretch of time could make it difficult for the Lakers to finish with one of the top seeds in a competitive conference.

It might be fair to say the Lakers have exceeded expectations through a little more than two months. The team is just 2.5 games out of the No.1 seed, though they are only 1.5 games ahead of the No.8 seed. The Denver Nuggets (21-10) are percentage points ahead of Golden State for the top spot in the West.

Houston went from the No.8 seed to the No.7 seed with their Christmas Day victory. The team that led the NBA with 65 wins last year seems to have recovered from their early-season struggles, even without the injured Chris Paul.

The Rockets have won seven of their last eight games. James Harden had 41 points, seven assists and six rebounds against the Thunder, giving him an average of 38.5 points over that eight-game stretch.

Oklahoma City had the No.1 seed for a brief time. As the No.3 seed, they are two games ahead of Los Angeles in the loss column and three games in front of Houston.

The Los Angeles Clippers (19-14) and Portland Trail Blazers (19-15) are sandwiched in between the Lakers and Rockets. Houston currently owns the tiebreaker over the No.8 seed Sacramento Kings (18-15).