Al Jefferson scored 28 points and Kemba Walker added 26 points as the Charlotte Bobcats overcame the Portland Trail Blazers with a 124-94 victory at the Time Warner Cable Arena on Saturday night.

Portland provided some resistance through Damian Lillard, who notched 20 points, but the Cats strolled to the win, thanks to their fourth-lowest average of conceding points in the NBA this season.

In Ohio, the Houston Rockets moved two-and-a-half games ahead of Portland in the race for fourth place and home-court advantage in the Western Conference, as they grabbed a 118-111 away win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

James Harden collected game highs of 37 points, 11 assists, and four steals for Houston, while small forward Chandler Parsons picked up 16 points and six assists at the Quicken Loans Arena.

The Philadelphia 76ers have now lost 24 games in a row, the second longest losing streak in the history of the sport, thanks to a 91-81 defeat at the hands of the Chicago Bulls.

The in-form Joakim Noah was the main tormentor on the night as he scored 20 points, with substitutes Taj Gibson and D.J. Augustin also providing 16 points each for the Bulls on home soil.

Saturday night's encounter at the FedExForum saw 18,119 people gather in the venue to watch the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Indiana Pacers 82-71, thanks to some impressive offensive play from point guard Mike Conley, who bagged 21 points for his team.

The Utah Jazz ended a six-game losing streak as they confined the Orlando Magic to their eighth straight loss, but it wasn't to come easy as the hosts relied on Trey Burke's three-pointer with 1.6 seconds remaining to grab the point-victory in Salt Lake City.

In LA, guard Chris Paul recorded his 6,000th career assist, with the Los Angeles Clippers man becoming the seventh NBA player to reach that mark before the end of his ninth season.

The assist was to help the Clippers overcome the Detroit Pistons with a 112-103 victory at the Staples Center, with Paul also adding a game-high 28 points for the hosts.

The New Orleans Pelicans recorded their first win over the Miami Heat since 2010 with a 105-95 victory at the Smoothie King Center. Anthony Davis led the way with 30 points, 11 rebounds and three steals.

Finally, in California, the San Antonio Spurs won their 13th straight game of the season by defeating the Golden State Warriors 99-90, thanks to some neat play from Tony Parker, who scored 20 points for a Spurs side without the rested Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.

Results in full: Charlotte Bobcats 124-94 Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets 118-111 Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Pelicans 105-95 Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls 91-81 Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies 82-71 Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz 89-88 Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers 112-103 Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs 99-90 Golden State Warriors