The New York Knicks slipped to their third defeat in a row as they were beaten by the Detroit Pistons for the first time in two years.

The two sides were level at half time, but 15 points from Rodney Stuckey after the break ensured that the home side opened up a lead to clinch their first win in eight meetings with the Knicks.

The Miami Heat continued their recent strong form by thrashing the Atlanta Hawks 104-88.

The Hawks were able to restrict LeBron James to 13 points, but Chris Bosh scored from eight of his nine shots to lead the scoring with 19 points, while Ray Allen also featured with 17.

The win, which is the NBA champions' fourth in a row, leaves the team with just the one home loss so far this season.

The Houston Rockets cruised to a comfortable win over the Boston Celtics as Terrence Jones scored a career-high 24 points.

The forward scored from 10 of his 12 attempts to help the team to a 24-point lead at half time and their way to a third win in a row.

Boston finished strongly, outscoring their opponents 28-21 in the fourth quarter, but they were already well beaten.

The Washington Wizards ended their four-game losing streak with victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kevin Love got the visitors off to a strong start, adding 16 points in the first quarter, but the Wizards were able to restrict the third-highest scorer in the league to nine points for the remainder of the game, before pulling ahead late on.

The Sacramento Kings came from behind in the fourth quarter to secure a narrow win over the Phoenix Suns.

The home side were 18 points down at the break, and Gerald Green and Marcus Morris had put the Suns in a strong position, but DeMarcus Cousins led the fightback, finishing the game with 27 points and 12 rebounds.

Results in full: Minnesota Timberwolves 100-104, New York Knicks 86-92 Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks 88-104 Miami Heat, Boston Celtics 85-109 Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns 104-107 Sacramento Kings