Boomers star Matthew Dellavedova missed his third successive NBA game due to a hamstring injury, but the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-94 on Monday night (Tuesday AEDT).
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points and 10 rebounds and rookie Malcolm Brogdon hit two free throws with eight seconds left, lifting the Bucks to the win.
Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 30 points and six assists but made only three-of-17 shots in the second half.
New Zealand centre Steven Adams scored 20 points and Victor Oladipo added 18 for the Thunder, who had won five of six heading into the game.
In Cleveland, LeBron James scored 26 points and the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for a 90-82 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving missed his second straight game because of tightness in his right hamstring. Cleveland dressed only 10 players thanks to a rash of recent injuries.
After Buddy Hield hit two free throws to pull the Pelicans to 84-82 with 2:56 remaining, James scored six straight points and blocked a shot over a 1:47 stretch to seal the Cavaliers' eighth win in nine games.
Anthony Davis scored 20 points with 17 rebounds for the Pelicans, whose four-game winning streak came to an end.
Elsewhere, Australian forward Joe Ingles scored five points and collected nine rebounds in Utah Jazz's 101-89 win against Brooklyn.
Fellow Aussie Dante Exum missed his sixth consecutive game for the Jazz with a knee injury and will be re-evaluated later in the week.
Jimmy Butler was the star in Chicago, scoring 52 points and claiming 12 rebounds to go with six assists and three steals in the Bulls' 118-111 win against Charlotte Hornets.
In Oakland, Draymond Green's putback with 28.9 seconds left gave him the final rebound for his second triple-double of the season, and he finished with 15 points, 13 assists and 10 boards to lead the balanced Golden State Warriors past the Denver Nuggets 127-119.
Houston were too strong for Washington 101-91, and J.J. Redick scored 22 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 109-98, opening the new year by snapping a six-game skid.
Jamal Crawford added 18 points and DeAndre Jordan had 20 rebounds for the Clippers, who remain without Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. Griffin has missed nine games while recovering from right knee surgery, while Paul has missed six with a sore left hamstring.
And in New York, Jodie Meeks scored a season-high 23 points, Serge Ibaka and Aaron Gordon each had 22 and the Orlando Magic rolled to a 115-103 victory over the Knicks, who lost their fifth successive game.
