NBA Standings 2020: Lakers, Bucks, Celtics, Raptors, Nuggets Enter 2nd Half With Top Records

One-third of the NBA regular season remains after the 2020 All-Star break. When the schedule resumes Thursday, six teams find themselves within fewer than 10 games of the league’s best record.

The Milwaukee Bucks (46-8) have a sizable lead in the race for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. have a 4.5-game lead atop the overall NBA standings. Milwaukee has a 6.5-game edge as the No.1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Los Angeles Lakers (41-12) lead the Western Conference with the second-best record in basketball. They’ve got a chance to pull away from the rest of the West if they get off to a hot start out of the break. The Lakers have gone undefeated on the road within the conference since losing on Opening Night.

The Toronto Raptors (40-15) have the league’s third-best record through 55 games of their title defense, despite losing 2019 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard in free agency. The reigning champs could be in a two-team battle for the East’s No.2 seed, which they earned a year ago.

Toronto is 1.5 games ahead of the Boston Celtics (38-16), who are doing their best to be considered among the legitimate title contenders. Boston has won nine of its last 10 games, defeating four playoff teams during that stretch. Jayson Tatum is turning into a star, averaging 28.3 points on 48.2% shooting in seven February games.

The No.4 seed Miami Heat (35-19) and No.5 seed Philadelphia 76ers (34-21) will have trouble earning a top-two seed.

The West features an even tighter race for the No.2 seed. The Denver Nuggets (38-17) were beaten at home by the Lakers just before the break, falling four games behind Los Angeles. The No.3 seed Los Angeles Clippers (37-18) and No.4 seed Utah Jazz (36-18) are only a game in the loss column behind Denver.

The Clippers ended the first half with consecutive road losses against the Celtics and 76ers. Paul George left the contest in Boston with a hamstring injury.

The Houston Rockets (34-0) are 7.5 games behind the Lakers and 3.5 games behind the Nuggets. The Rockets have beaten the Lakers and Celtics since trading Clint Capela in the four-team deal that sent Robert Covington to Houston.

The Oklahoma City Thunder (33-22), Dallas Mavericks (33-22) and Indiana Pacers (32-23) all enter the second half as near locks to make the postseason.