The Golden State Warriors returned from the All-Star break with a comfortable victory over the San Antonio Spurs at the Oracle Arena in a clash between the defending champions and the side with the best record in the NBA this season.
Stephen Curry continued his form from the first half of the season, hitting his stride before half time on his way to a 25-point game, while Klay Thompson helped the Warriors open up a 21-point lead at the start of the fourth, leaving Golden State to extend their lead at the top of the Western Conference.
The Toronto Raptors closed the gap to the top of the Eastern Conference with a rout over leaders the Atlanta Hawks.
After a closely-matched first half, the visitors came out strong at the start of the third quarter, with Lou Williams and DeMar DeRozan putting the Raptors 23 points up heading into the fourth.
The Miami Heat shared the scoring duties to secure a comfortable win over the New York Knicks, despite taking just nine players to Madison Square Garden.
Eight of the side reached double figures, including rookie Shabazz Napier with a season-high 18, as the Knicks slumped to their sixth straight defeat.
The Cleveland Cavaliers cruised to an emphatic win over the Washington Wizards to make it 15 wins in their last 17 outings.
LeBron James spent just 25 minutes on court, but he led the side with 28 points as the Cavaliers were ahead by 40 midway through the second half after John Wall had cut the gap to 12 in the third quarter.
George Karl made a winning debut as Sacramento Kings coach as his side picked up a win over the Boston Celtics.
The game was closely fought throughout, but DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay combined for 59 to ensure that the home side edged ahead.
The Houston Rockets were beaten by Texas rivals the Dallas Mavericks despite a fourth-quarter comeback.
Injuries left the Mavericks short, but Devin Harris and Al-Farouq Aminu each added 17 to keep Dallas ahead, despite James Harden cutting their lead to five during the fourth quarter.
The Detroit Pistons stunned the Chicago Bulls, despite having just 10 players available for the game.
A busy trade deadline left Stan Van Gundy's side short-handed, but Spencer Dinwiddie stepped up for a career-high 12 as the Pistons dominated the third quarter, setting up the win.
The Portland Trail Blazers struggled to score points as they were thrashed by the Utah Jazz at the EnergySolutions Arena.
The Blazers added just 33 points in the second half, allowing Trey Burke to come off the bench to score 19, adding to a 20-point display from Gordon Hayward.
A strong first half was enough to set the Indiana Pacers up for a win over the Philadelphia 76ers at the Time Warner Arena.
Rodney Stuckey scored a season-high 30 points as the visitors surged ahead in the first half, leaving the Sixers too far behind when Nerlens Noel added a run of late points.
A dominant second-half performance from the Orlando Magic handed them victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
The hosts were six points down at the break, but Victor Oladipo led the comeback, scoring 22 to give the Magic back-to-back wins.
The Los Angeles Lakers slipped to their seventh straight defeat despite a late rally in their game against the Brooklyn Nets.
Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez led the scoring for the Nets as they added 40 points in a dominant third quarter, giving Brooklyn enough of a lead to survive a late run of points from Jeremy Lin.
The Milwaukee Bucks recovered from trailing for the entire first half to clinch a narrow win over the Denver Nuggets.
The Bucks took the lead after a 20-7 run in the third quarter, led by John Henson, and never fell behind again.
The Minnesota Timberwolves held off a comeback from the Phoenix Suns to secure a narrow win.
Kevin Martin and Andrew Wiggins led the scoring as Minnesota opened up a 10-point lead by half time, but Markieff Morris brought the Suns back into contention after the break, before Wiggins added a late basket to clinch it for the hosts.
Results in full: New Orleans Pelicans 84-95 Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers 106-95 Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors 105-80 Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls 91-100 Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat 111-87 New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns 109-111 Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers 127-89 Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets 100-111 Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets 81-89 Milwaukee Bucks, Portland Trail Blazers 76-93 Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics 101-109 Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs 99-110 Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets 114-105 Los Angeles Lakers
Sian Cowper
