The Portland Trail Blazers moved further clear of the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference with a convincing 108-95 victory at Moda Center on Monday night.
The Spurs were without Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker and couldn't handle LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard, who both scored 23 for the Blazers. One negative for the home side was that center Robin Lopez broke his hand and will now miss a chunk of games.
The Cleveland Cavaliers eventually came out on top against the Charlotte Hornets following a topsy-turvy affair at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavs stormed out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter before Charlotte got back to within two points early in the third. Cleveland were never down, though, and ended up winning 97-88, with LeBron James scoring 27 points and dishing 13 assists while Kevin Love added 22 points and 18 rebounds.
The Chicago Bulls lost their first game in four with a 93-86 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena.
Al Horford led the way for the Hawks, who have won 10 of their last 11 games, with 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
The Indiana Pacers ended their eight-game losing streak with a 110-91 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Rodney Stuckey starred for the home side with 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists - his second points-rebounds double-double in a row.
Two sides on three-game losing streaks met at Wells Fargo Center and it was the Boston Celtics who returned to winning ways with a 105-87 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Both Nerlens Noel (19) and Kelly Olynyk (30) had career-high scoring nights for either side as Philadelphia continued its winless start to the season at home.
There was a dramatic finish at US Airways Center as the Milwaukee Bucks stunned the Phoenix Suns with a three-pointer at the buzzer from Khris Middleton.
Markieff Morris, the game's top scorer with 25, appeared to have sealed victory for Phoenix with a late jumper, but Middleton's hurried three-pointer somehow bounced around the rim before dropping home to make it six defeats in a row for the Suns.
At Air Canada Centre, the Toronto Raptors fought back from a half-time deficit to beat the Orlando Magic 95-82 and improve to 19-6 for the season.
It was the third time that Toronto had defeated Orlando this season and in every game the Magic has shot better percentage from the floor.
In the day's final game, the Los Angeles Clippers eased past the Detroit Pistons at Staples Center 113-91.
Jodie Meeks, with 20 points, led all scorers in defeat for Detroit on just his third game of the season after missing the first 22 with a back injury.
Results in full: Charlotte Hornets 88-97 Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers 91-110 Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics 105-87 Philadelphia 76ers, Chicago Bulls 86-93 Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic 82-95 Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks 96-94 Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs 95-108 Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons 91-113 Los Angeles Clippers
Pascal Lemesre
