The San Antonio Spurs won their first game in seven against fellow Texans the Houston Rockets with a slim win at AT&T Center on Sunday.
It also ended a two-game losing streak for the defending champions as they held off a late Houston rally to win it by four points 110-106 and improve to 20-13 for the season.
In Sunday's sole afternoon game, the Detroit Pistons won their second game in a row since releasing Josh Smith with a comfortable 23-point victory on the road at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The visitors hit a franchise-record 17 three-pointers, with Brandon Jennings contributing 25 points and Andre Drummond adding 16 points with 17 rebounds.
The Dallas Mavericks prevented the Oklahoma City Thunder from reaching the .500 mark with a 112-107 victory at American Airlines Center.
Dirk Nowitzki started at center in place of the injured Tyson Chandler and led all scorers with 30 for the Mavs, while Serge Ibaka had 26 points and 10 rebounds in defeat for OKC.
At Pepsi Center, the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors improved to 24-7 with a 116-102 win over the Denver Nuggets.
It was the fifth game in a row that Toronto had scored at least 110 points, with guards Lou Williams (31) and Kyle Lowry (30) combining for over half of the Raptors' total.
The Phoenix Suns extended the NBA's best current winning streak to six games by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 116-107 at Staples Center.
Goran Dragic top-scored with 24 for the Suns, while Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, returning from a four-game absence, was only able to put up 10 points.
While the Suns are flying of late, the New York Knicks continue to struggle, last night losing their eighth game in a row at the Portland Trail Blazers.
Portland were firing on all cylinders from three-point range in a 101-79 triumph, making a total of 16 from downtown, with Wesley Matthews hitting six from range to lead all scorers with 28 points.
Results in full: Detroit Pistons 103-80 Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets 106-110 San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder 107-112 Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks 79-101 Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors 116-102 Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns 116-107 Los Angeles Lakers
Pascal Lemesre
