Having moved up to fifth in the Western Conference standings, the Los Angeles Lakers are in a tricky position leading up to the NBA trade deadline on Feb.

Houston (29-14, No. 2 in West) is the only team with wins this season over both the Thunder and Cavaliers, who are tied for the NBA’s best record.

The Houston Rockets are the second seed in the Western Conference. They've done a lot to prove they belong near the top of the West, but keeping the second spot is a different story.

DALLAS — Jayson Tatum scored 24 points, Derrick White added 23, including Boston’s first 11 of the third quarter, and the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 122-107 on Saturday night in the first meeting between the teams since the NBA Finals.

The NBA announced its 2025 All-Star Game starters on Thursday, and the Rockets weren’t represented. But led by Alperen Sengun, they did receive votes.

The NBA is set to announce this year’s All-Star Game reserves Thursday night. Here are The Post’s picks to round out the rosters next month in San Francisco.

Joe Mazzulla can only blame himself for the overthinking as the Celtics blundered on defense in their loss to the Rockets.

James Harden scored 17 of his 40 points in the third quarter and Norman Powell added 33 points as the Los Angeles Clippers finished off a 127-117 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks at Inglewood,

Houston’s latest masterpiece came at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers as they survived the latter 135-131 on Saturday thanks to a balanced scoring effort that saw six Rockets players hit double digits.

The Sacramento Kings have managed to catch their stride since promoting Doug Christie. After going 13-18 with Mike Brown, a two-time Coach of the Year, they’re 11-4 under the first year head coach.

It’s Tuesday, January 28. We have four games on the NBA slate, including a nationally televised doubleheader on TNT. The Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers meet at 7:30 p.m. ET in the front end of the televised double dip, while the Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers play at 10 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV and Max.

Toumani Camara, Portland Trail Blazers (available in 77.7 of ESPN leagues): Camara can be up and down, but for the most part has played strong since the end of 2024. Since Dec. 30, he has averaged 2.4 combined steals and blocks and 1.6 3-pointers over 14 games. In his last outing, he dropped 24 points with nine boards and four assists.