The Oklahoma City Thunder strengthened their place in the Western Conference playoff places with a big win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.
Without reigning MVP Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook starred with 21 points and a career-high 17 assists, 12 of which came in the first half, as the Thunder won their sixth game in a row.
In the day's early game, the Cleveland Cavaliers won for the 16th time in 18 matches with a convincing 101-83 triumph over the lowly New York Knicks.
LeBron James had 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith impressed on their return to the Madison Square Garden after being traded to the Cavs last month.
There is no team left with a single-digit count in the loss column after the Golden State Warriors suffered their 10th defeat of the season at the Indiana Pacers.
The Warriors were without All-Star point-guard Stephen Curry for the first time this season and Klay Thompson picked up the slack with 39 points, but it wasn't enough as Rodney Stuckey's 39 led Indiana to the win.
With Golden State losing, the Atlanta Hawks closed in on the best record in the league by seeing off the Milwaukee Bucks 97-86, avoiding a first three-game losing streak of the season.
Paul Millsap starred for the Eastern Conference-leading Hawks with 23 points and 16 rebounds, while Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton had 19 for the Bucks.
A huge fourth quarter helped the Memphis Grizzlies get back to winning ways as they fought back from 13 down in the final period to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 98-92 on the road.
Memphis won the fourth 34-15 to improve to 40-14 in their first game since the All-Star break. Center Marc Gasol led all scorers with 21 for the Grizz.
Reggie Jackson made his debut for the Detroit Pistons and overcame a shaky start to help his new side to a comfortable win over the Washington Wizards.
The point-guard, who switched the Thunder for Detroit, missed his first eight shots but ended up with 17 points and five assists as the Wizards lost their third in a row.
While Jackson's bow improved as the match went on, another point-guard saw his debut come to a sour end. Isaiah Thomas was ejected in the fourth quarter as the Boston Celtics fell to an overtime defeat against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Despite losing Thomas, Boston forced overtime thanks to a pair of late three-pointers from Avery Bradley, but they couldn't complete a comeback as Jeremy Lin's 25 points helped the Lakers end their seven-game losing streak.
The Charlotte Hornets fell to their fifth straight defeat by going down 92-81 at the Dallas Mavericks.
Monta Ellis led all scorers with 23 for Dallas, while Amar'e Stoudemire had 14 points in just 11 minutes on his Mavs debut.
In a tussle between two of the East's worst three teams, the Orlando Magic came out on top 103-98 over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Nikola Vucevic led the way with 31 points and 14 rebounds as the Magic recorded three straight wins for the first time this season.
Results in full: Cleveland Cavaliers 101-83 New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks 97-86 Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards 89-106 Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors 98-104 Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers 98-103 Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets 94-119 Oklahoma City Thunder, Charlotte Hornets 81-92 Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies 98-92 Portland Trail Blazers, Boston Celtics 111-118 Los Angeles Lakers
