The Golden State Warriors no longer have the best record in the NBA after falling to a two-point defeat at the Brooklyn Nets in one of five games on Monday night.
The Western Conference-leading Warriors are now 46-12 following Jarrett Jack's late jumper that sealed the win for Brooklyn, with the East-leading Atlanta Hawks just ahead in the overall standings on 47-12.
The Los Angeles Clippers earned their third win in a row by outlasting the Minnesota Timberwolves in a see-saw affair at Target Center.
After a hot start, the Clippers were down at half time, but they then restricted Minnesota to just one field goal in the final period on their way to a five-point win. Chris Paul had 26 points and 14 assists for the visitors, while opposing point guard Ricky Rubio notched his fourth career triple-double (18 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists) in defeat for the Wolves.
Goran Dragic's new team, the Miami Heat, got the better of the Phoenix Suns in the point guard's first meeting against his former club.
Dragic got into foul trouble, but still had 21 points in under 15 minutes of play, while the Heat were led by a career-high 26 off the bench from Tyler Johnson.
The New Orleans Pelicans saw their five-game winning streak come to an end as the Dallas Mavericks picked up their first win in three games.
New Orleans led by three at half time, but Dallas went on a 16-0 run early in the third quarter before running out 102-93 winners at American Airlines Center.
DeMar DeRozan led the Toronto Raptors to their first win in six games with a season-high 35 points against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Toronto still hold the second seed in the Eastern Conference, but they are now nine-and-a-half games behind the Hawks because of their recent slump.
Results in full: Toronto Raptors 114-103 Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors 108-110 Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns 98-115 Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers 110-105 Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans 93-102 Dallas Mavericks
