The Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the first three quarters as they eased to a win over the Boston Celtics, giving the team their 12th straight home win.
LeBron James continued his recent hot streak, adding 27 to move him up to 21st on the all-time NBA points scorers list and giving Cleveland a lead of over 40 points going into the final 12 minutes, ending any hopes of a Boston fightback.
The Atlanta Hawks needed a fourth-quarter comeback to secure a win over the Houston Rockets at the Philips Arena.
The Eastern Conference leaders were 18 points down midway through the third quarter when Al Horford and Jeff Teague led the turnaround, ensuring a fifth win in a row for the Hawks.
The Chicago Bulls clinched a narrow win over the Washington Wizards despite missing a number of their starters through injury.
With Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson all out, Nikola Mirotic stepped up, adding 23 to give the Bulls the lead before the break, which Washington could never overturn.
The Charlotte Hornets secured their third win in four games with a narrow victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The team were close throughout, but the hosts went ahead inside the last five minutes when Gerald Henderson made a three-pointer, while Mo Williams added a couple of late free throws to make sure the Lakers could not turn it around at the death.
The New York Knicks suffered their heaviest defeat of the season as they were crushed by the Sacramento Kings at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks were behind by 16 after just the first quarter as Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins added 47 points between them, ensuring that the Kings never trailed.
The Denver Nuggets took their first win in seven games as they claimed a win over the Milwaukee Bucks shortly after dismissing their coach.
Danilo Gallinari finished with a season-high 26 as Denver pulled away late on in the closely-fought encounter, which came just hours after the firing of Brian Shaw.
The Utah Jazz came out strong at the start of the second half to surge to victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, giving the Jazz their first three-game winning streak of the season.
Utah were just a point down at the break, but Gordon Hayward made a quick start to the second half before Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert also hit their stride to open up a lead.
Results in full: Los Angeles Lakers 103-104 Charlotte Hornets, Boston Celtics 79-110 Cleveland Cavaliers, Sacramento Kings 124-86 New York Knicks, Houston Rockets 96-104 Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards 92-97 Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz 93-82 Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks 95-106 Denver Nuggets
Sian Cowper
