The Miami Heat held off a strong finish from the Los Angeles Clippers to secure their first away win against the side since 2007.

LeBron James finished the game with 31, which included a three-pointer in the final minute which sealed the result.

Blake Griffin gave the Clippers some late hope with a season-high 43, but it was not enough for the Pacific Division leaders to avoid defeat.

The Oklahoma City Thunder cruised to victory over the injury-hit Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kevin Durant helped the home side open up a big lead ahead of the fourth quarter, scoring 24 of his 26 points before heading into the final 12 minutes.

The San Antonio Spurs needed two overtimes to claim victory over the Washington Wizards.

Tim Duncan led the side with 31, but it was Patty Mills who upped his game during the extra period, scoring 11 of his 23 points in overtime to seal a 16th consecutive win for the Spurs.

A strong first half was enough to give the Los Angeles Lakers their first win in eight outings, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Ryan Kelly and Steve Blake helped the visitors open up a 21-point lead by half time, which left the Cavaliers with too much to do in the second half.

The Dallas Mavericks needed a strong fourth quarter to be sure of a win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The visitors began their rally towards the end of the third quarter in what had been a close game, but opened up a big lead in the fourth to make it three wins in a row.

The Orlando Magic cruised to a win over the Detroit Pistons, leaving them with four victories in their last five home fixtures.

Magic had just a two-point lead heading into the final 2:28, but rookie Victor Oladipo entered the game to restore Orlando's lead and clinch the win.

There were bizarre scenes in the second quarter as the Pistons took a timeout while coach Maurice Cheeks and point guard Will Bynum had a heated exchange of words, resulting in Bynum being benched for the rest of the game.

The Houston Rockets were too strong for the Phoenix Suns, thrashing their opponents to extend their winning streak to four games.

Dwight Howard, who has scored at least 20 points in each of the Rockets' last four games, continued his fine form, adding 34 points and 14 rebounds.

The New York Knicks slipped to their third straight defeat in a narrow loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The home side pushed hard as they tried to overtime a narrow deficit late on, cutting the Blazers' lead to two with just over 30 seconds left to play, but LaMarcus Aldridge was able to find a late jump shot to secure victory.

The Sacramento Kings made it back-to-back wins despite a late fightback from the Toronto Raptors.

Rudy Gay had helped the hosts to a lead, adding 24 against his former team, before DeMar DeRozan and Steve Novak gave the Canadian side some late hope, but they could not complete the comeback.

The New Orleans Pelicans came from behind late on to seal a win over the Atlanta Hawks.

The Hawks had led by seven points inside the final eight minutes, but Anthony Davis and Brian Roberts were able to lead the Pelicans back into the game.

The Denver Nuggets held off a late charge from the Milwaukee Bucks to clinch victory over the side with the worst record in the NBA.

Larry Sanders and Khris Middleton combined for 50 to keep the Bucks in contention, but Wilson Chandler put the result beyond doubt, adding seven points inside the final two minutes.

Jeff Green led the Boston Celtics to a six-point win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Green scored 17 of his 36 points in the third quarter to keep the Celtics ahead while the Sixers were trying to fight their way back into the game.

Results in full: Los Angeles Lakers 119-108 Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics 114-108 Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs 125-118 Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons 98-112 Orlando Magic, Portland Trail Blazers 94-90 New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns 108-122 Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks 110-96 Memphis Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks 100-105 New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves 97-106 Oklahoma City Thunder, Milwaukee Bucks 100-110 Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors 101-109 Sacramento Kings, Miami Heat 116-112 Los Angeles Clippers