The Houston Rockets came from behind in the third quarter to clinch a win over the San Antonio Spurs.

The hosts were without James Harden, while Dwight Howard struggled in the first half, allowing the Spurs to take a seven-point lead at half time.

However, Howard and Jeremy Lin found their form after the break to give the Rockets the lead before holding off a late comeback from San Antonio.

The New York Knicks crushed the Boston Celtics to make it three wins in a row for the home side.

Carmelo Anthony led the rout with 24 points in just 28 minutes, to make amends for the Knicks' 44-point defeat last time the Celtics visited Madison Square Garden.

The Detroit Pistons ended a four-game losing streak by easing their way past the Orlando Magic.

Brandon Jennings led the way for Detroit with 20 points, but the home side shared the workload with five players on 12 or more.

The Los Angeles Lakers slipped to their 17th defeat in 20 games, losing to Eastern Conference leaders the Indiana Pacers.

David West and Lance Stephenson combined for 34 points for the Pacers, before Paul George tried to put the result beyond doubt, but he missed 17 of his 21 shots.

A dominant first-half performance set up the Memphis Grizzlies for a comfortable win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Former Blazers forward Zach Randolph scored 23 against his old team, while LaMarcus Aldridge tried to bring the hosts back into contention, but Portland were never able to take the lead.

The Washington Wizards had to finish strongly to seal a narrow win over the Golden State Warriors.

Bradley Beal finished the game with 20 points, 18 of which came in the second half, while Stephen Curry missed a three-pointer as time expired.

Anthony Davis dominated the scoring as the New Orleans Pelicans eased to a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The 2012 number one Draft pick scored 30 points with seven rebounds and eight blocks despite dislocating his finger in the fourth quarter.

Results in full: New Orleans Pelicans 100-89 Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic 87-103 Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics 88-114 New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs 90-97 Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies 98-81 Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Wizards 88-85 Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers 104-92 Los Angeles Lakers