The Cleveland Cavaliers held off a strong challenge from the New York Knicks to win for the eighth game in a row in one of 11 NBA matches on Friday night.
LeBron James finished as the game's top scorer with 31 and restricted Carmelo Anthony to just four second-half points after the Knicks forward had poured in 22 in the first two frames.
While the Cavs are on a hot streak, the Philadelphia 76ers are yet to taste victory this season after falling to their ninth straight defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Russell Westbrook, with 21 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists, had a triple-double for the second game in a row as the Thunder recovered from a slow start to ease to a 102-85 success.
Two other teams enduring sluggish form met at FedExForum and it was the hosting Memphis Grizzlies that won for the first time in five and inflicted a fourth straight defeat on the Portland Trail Blazers.
Memphis almost surrendered an 11-point fourth-quarter lead, but Zach Randolph's putback with 0.6s on the clock salvaged a 101-100 victory for the Grizzlies, with Marc Gasol scoring a season-high 31 points.
The Toronto Raptors streaked away in the second half to win 100-81 and exact an eighth defeat in nine games on the New Orleans Pelicans.
Eric Gordon top-scored with 30 for New Orleans, but a balanced Toronto were led by Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas, both 20 points, as the Raptors improved to 7-3.
Isaiah Thomas scored 17 of his game-high 23 after half time and also dished out 10 assists as the Boston Celtics overcame the Atlanta Hawks 106-93 at TD Garden.
The contest was level after two quarters, but Boston pulled away in the second half as they began to connect on more of their shots while remaining tight defensively.
The Los Angeles Lakers fell to their eighth defeat in nine games by going down 90-82 away at the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavs have now won nine in a row against the Lakers after Zaza Pachulia's fifth double-double of the season (18 points, 16 rebounds) helped them to victory.
After earning their first win of the season, the Brooklyn Nets were back to losing ways as they fell 111-109 to the Sacramento Kings.
DeMarcus Cousins had a season-high 40 points, while Rajon Rondo had his third triple-double in four games with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists as the Kings made it back-to-back wins after losing six on the bounce.
At Pepsi Center, the Houston Rockets dropped below .500 (4-5) as the Denver Nuggets beat them for the second time this season.
Ty Lawson, on his return to Denver, was held scoreless on 0-7 shooting as Danilo Gallinari's 27 points and a career-high 26 from Will Barton guided the Nuggets to a third straight home win.
Paul George and the Indiana Pacers won for the sixth time in seven games as they held off a late rally to down the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-103.
The Wolves had won all four of their away games this season, but fell to defeat at Bankers Life Fieldhouse as George, with 29 points, surpassed 25 for the sixth game in a row.
The Chicago Bulls avenged a heavy defeat to the Charlotte Hornets earlier this month by seeing them off 102-97 at United Center.
Jimmy Butler had 27 points for the hosts, while Nicolas Batum led the way in defeat for the visitors with 28, including 5-6 from three-point range.
Results in full: Minnesota Timberwolves 103-107 Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz 93-102 Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks 93-106 Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers 90-84 New York Knicks, New Orleans Pelicans 81-100 Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Hornets 97-102 Chicago Bulls, Portland Trail Blazers 100-101 Memphis Grizzlies, Philadelphia 76ers 85-102 Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers 82-90 Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets 98-107 Denver Nuggets, Brooklyn Nets 109-111 Sacramento Kings
Pascal Lemesre
