Pascal Siakam scored 37 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the reigning NBA champion Toronto Raptors defeated the Phoenix Suns 118-101 to continue their resurgence in the eastern conference.
Serge Ibaka added 16 points for the Raptors, who have won eight straight home games and 16 of their past 17 games.
After Toronto's franchise-record 15-game winning streak ended with a loss at Brooklyn in the final game before the All-Star break, the Raptors bounced back in style.
They have not lost back-to-back games since an overtime loss at Indiana on December 23 and a home loss to Boston on Christmas Day.
Devin Booker scored 21 points and had eight assists for the Suns on Friday, who have lost seven of nine, and were without injured Australian Aron Baynes.
T.J. Warren scored 27 points as Indiana Pacers overcame a sluggish start and shaky finish to record a 106-98 away victory over the New York Knicks and Gordon Hayward scored a game-high 29 points and the Boston Celtics played strong defence down the stretch to hold off the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-117.
Jayson Tatum scored 28 points and Jaylen Brown and Daniel Theis chipped in with 25 apiece as the Celtics came out of the All-Star break with their fourth victory in the last five road games.
Chris Paul made four 3-pointers as part of a 29-point haul to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 113-101 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Steven Adams recorded 19 points, 17 rebounds and matched his season best of four steals for the Thunder while Nikola Jokic scored 32 points on 12-of-15 shooting as Denver lost their second straight contest following a four-game winning streak.
Dejounte Murray poured in 23 points to lead six teammates in double-figure scoring - including Australia's Patty Mills - as the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 113-104 victory over the Utah Jazz.
It is the first time Murray has had back-to-back games with 20 points or more in his three-year career; Mills contributed 15.
LeBron James scored 32 points to guide the Los Angeles Lakers to a 117-105 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies and rookie Zion Williamson had 25 points for his seventh straight game with at least 20 points to set up the New Orleans Pelicans 128-115 triumph over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The No. 1 draft pick was playing in just his 11th game after a right knee injury sidelined him for the first half of the season.
Luka Doncic scored 33 points and Maxi Kleber amassed a career-high 26 points off the bench as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Orlando Magic 122-106.
Collin Sexton scored 25 points as the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers posted a 113-108 victory over the Wizards, making J.B. Bickerstaff a winner in his Cleveland head-coaching debut.
Australian Associated Press
