LeBron James suffered defeat on his old home court for the second time this season as the Miami Heat surprisingly got the better of the Cleveland Cavaliers in one of 10 NBA matches on Monday.
James and the Cavs saw their four-game winning streak ended as Dwyane Wade scored 31 points to lead Miami to a key victory in their fight to finish in the playoffs.
Two sides on three-game winning streaks met at Verizon Center and it was the hosting Washington Wizards who got the better of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Washington led by as many as 25 in the game, but Portland shrunk the lead to three before the Wiz came through. John Wall was the standout player with 21 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists.
The Dallas Mavericks fought back from 15 points down to earn a vital win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in what is a jam-packed playoff fight in the West.
OKC star Russell Westbrook (24 points, eight rebounds, 12 assists) fouled out late on in the contest as Dallas came through thanks to a 31-point game from Chandler Parsons.
The Western Conference-leading Golden State Warriors guaranteed their place in the playoffs with a three-point win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
In a tightly-contested affair at Oracle Arena, Golden State, who make three straight post-seasons for the first time since 1975-77, just came through as Klay Thompson led all scorers with 26.
The longest winning streak in the league belongs to the Utah Jazz, who won their sixth in a row in a blowout victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
Utah's defence restricted Charlotte to just 66 points and they cruised to victory largely thanks to 12 three-pointers on just 15 attempts in the first half, which is a new club-record for made threes in a half.
The Boston Celtics are firmly in the race for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after beating the Philadelphia 76ers for their fifth win in a row.
Tyler Zeller had a career-high 26 points on 11-15 shooting while Avery Bradley added 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
The Heat, Celtics and Indiana Pacers all have the same 30-36 record as the latter fell to their second straight defeat at home to the Toronto Raptors.
Kyle Lowry notched his second triple-double of the season (20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) as the Raptors hit the 40-win mark in less than 70 games for the first time in their history.
The Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks recorded a club-record 23rd away win of the season by overcoming the Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena.
Starters Jeff Teague (23 points) and Paul Millsap (19 points, 10 rebounds) returned after getting a rest on Sunday to help the Hawks to their third straight victory.
The Memphis Grizzlies put an end to the Denver Nuggets' four-game winning streak by coming out on top at FedExForum.
The game was tied at 79-79 in the fourth quarter, but Tony Allen sparked a 13-2 Grizzlies run that saw the second-placed team in the West run out comfortable winners.
The Brooklyn Nets gave their hopes of sneaking into the East's playoff race a shot in the arm by inflicting a fifth straight defeat on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
On a balanced night for the Nets, Joe Johnson (22) and Bojan Bogdanovic (21) led the way in scoring as the Nets earned their second win in a row.
Results in full: Toronto Raptors 117-98 Indiana Pacers, Portland Trail Blazers 97-105 Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers 89-108 Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets 81-92 Memphis Grizzlies, Brooklyn Nets 122-106 Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers 92-106 Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder 115-119 Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets 66-94 Utah Jazz, Atlanta Hawks 110-103 Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers 105-108 Golden State Warriors
Pascal Lemesre
