Joel Embiid poured in 36 points and had 14 rebounds as his Philadelphia 76ers snapped the Los Angeles Clippers' seven-game winning streak with a 106-103 result.
Philadelphia proved their Eastern Conference-topping credentials from the start as they raced out to a 20-3 lead before finishing the half with a 12-point lead.
The Clippers went into the second half with intent and scored six three-pointers in the third quarter, but fell apart in the game's last five minutes when they turned over the ball on five of their final four possessions.
The Utah Jazz sent out a message with a gritty 119-111 defeat of the Indiana Pacers in Salt Lake City, with the league-leading hosts forced to rally when guard Donovan Mitchell went down with a right ankle injury in the third quarter.
The Oklahoma City Thunder fell to their ninth consecutive loss as they stumbled 110-104 at the Detroit Pistons, who will next face the Washington Wizards in the capital.
The Wizards benefitted on Friday from some Russell Westbrook magic, with the guard scoring 10 of his side's 12 points in over-time to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 117-115.
Julius Randle had his best game in his hometown of Dallas as he netted 44 points for the New York Knicks en route to a 117-109 win against the Dallas Mavericks, while further south the Denver Nuggets gave the Houston Rockets a 128-99 pounding.
The Brooklyn Nets defeated the injury-ravaged Charlotte Hornets 130-115, the Memphis Grizzlies took charge in the second half to win 126-115 over the Chicago Bulls and Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points as his Minnesota Timberwolves were 119-111 victors against the Miami Heat.
Paul Watson scored a career-high 30 points as his Toronto Raptors secured a 113-102 victory over the Orlando Magic, while the San Antonio Spurs missed three shots on their final possession to hand the game 107-106 to the Portland Trail Blazers.
