The Golden State Warriors finished strongly to claim a win over the Milwaukee Bucks, leaving the Western Conference leaders with 25 wins from their 27 home games so far this season.
Stephen Curry made a slow start, but made three three-pointers in just over a minute in the fourth quarter as the Warriors surged ahead, while Draymond Green led the team with 23 points.
LeBron James hit his stride in the fourth quarter to ensure that the Cleveland Cavaliers held on to beat the Toronto Raptors.
The four-time MVP added 15 of his 29 points in the final 12 minutes to keep the Cavaliers ahead after the Raptors had fought back in the third.
Russell Westbrook scored a career-high 49 points just four days after undergoing surgery on a fractured cheekbone, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to an overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
The guard wore a protective mask, but it did not stop him leading the scoring for the hosts in a closely-fought game, which also saw him make a career-high 16 rebounds.
The San Antonio Spurs made it three wins in a row as they brushed the Sacramento Kings aside in their first home game in almost a month.
The NBA champions were made to work early on, but Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker kept the score moving as the Spurs dominated either side of half time to open up a commanding lead.
The Portland Trail Blazers needed a last-gasp basket in regulation to force overtime on their way to a win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Nicolas Batum made a three-pointer with just seconds to spare to tie it up after Portland had been 10 down with 2:40 to play, leaving LaMarcus Aldridge to put the visitors ahead in overtime.
The Memphis Grizzlies needed a late shot from Marc Gasol to come away with a slender victory over the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.
Gasol blocked a James Harden effort with the scores tied with six seconds to play, before heading down the other end to clinch the win for the visitors.
The Indiana Pacers picked up their sixth win in seven outings as they eased to an emphatic win over the New York Knicks.
George Hill scored a season-high 21 to help the hosts open up a 25-point gap by half time, leaving the Knicks with too much to do after the break.
The Charlotte Hornets eased to a comfortable win over the Brooklyn Nets to move into the final playoff place in the Eastern Conference.
The Hornets raced ahead early on, opening up a 20-point lead by the end of the first quarter, and they extended their lead further after the break, with Al Jefferson and Gerald Henderson each adding 19.
The Miami Heat needed a strong second-half performance to clinch a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at the AmericanAirlines Arena.
Having fallen behind in the first half, the Heat turned to Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside to get the hosts back into the game, with the latter scoring a one-handed dunk in the final minute to put the win beyond doubt.
Anthony Davis announced his return from injury, scoring 39 points in the New Orleans Pelicans' narrow win over the Detroit Pistons.
After five games out, Davis helped the Pelicans recover from a slow start to edge ahead in the third quarter before holding off a Pistons fightback.
The Denver Nuggets made it two wins in as many games since firing coach Brian Shaw as they thumped the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Just over 24 hours after parting company with the coach, the Nuggets played their second game, with Kenneth Faried and Will Barton combining for 35.
The Phoenix Suns made a dominant start to the second half to set up a win over the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center.
With Orlando ahead at the interval, Brandon Knight made sure that the visitors turned it around, scoring 28 to lead the Suns back from a 15-point deficit.
A last-gasp shot from Tyler Zeller lifted the Boston Celtics to a narrow win over the Utah Jazz, ending their opponents' three-game winning streak.
Neither side was able to open up a significant lead throughout. Gordon Hayward thought that he had given the Jazz the win when he made a jump shot with 1.7 seconds on the clock, but Zeller went straight down the other end to hand the advantage back to the Celtics at the buzzer.
Results in full: New York Knicks 82-105 Indiana Pacers, Phoenix Suns 105-100 Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz 84-85 Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets 115-91 Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers 120-112 Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies 102-100 Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets 100-85 Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons 85-88 New Orleans Pelicans, Philadelphia 76ers 118-123 Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers 94-100 Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings 85-112 San Antonio Spurs, Milwaukee Bucks 93-102 Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers 98-93 Los Angeles Clippers
Sian Cowper
