James Harden scored 41 points as the red-hot Houston Rockets held off the host New Orleans Pelicans 108-104 in their NBA clash.
Harden had his third straight game with at least 40 points and his seventh straight with at least 35 as the Rockets won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Eric Gordon added 21 points, Danuel House Jr. scored 15 and the recently signed Austin Rivers came off the bench to score 10.
Julius Randle had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Pelicans, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.
The Rockets increased their three-point halftime lead to nine on three occasions and held an eight-point advantage before the Pelicans made a third-quarter 10-point run to give New Orleans a 72-70 lead.
The lead changed hands five times more, the fifth change coming when Gordon made a layup that gave Houston a 77-76 lead after three quarters.
The Rockets scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter and eventually extended the lead to 15 midway through the quarter, sealing the win.
Elsewhere, Trevor Ariza scored 24 points as the injury-riddled Washington Wizards snapped a three-game losing streak with a 130-126 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
Ariza came to the rescue after the Wizards nearly blew a nine-point lead.
He was fouled on a layup and hit the ensuing free throw to give the Wizards their final four-point victory margin.
The Wizards' All-Star guard John Wall will miss the remainder of the season because of upcoming heel surgery.
Australians Dante Exum and Joe Ingles got on the board as the Utah Jazz scored a comfortable 129-97 win over the New York Knicks.
Exum had 13 points and 13 assists, while Ingles had six points.
Veteran Vince Carter came off the bench to score 21 points and the Atlanta Hawks won for the fifth time in six games, beating the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 111-108.
At 41 years and 337 days, Carter became the oldest player in NBA history to lead their team in scoring.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as his Milwaukee Bucks held on to defeat the Brooklyn Nets 129-115.
The Bucks have now won three straight and seven of eight.
And Australian-born Boston superstar Kyrie Irving top-scored with 26 points as the Celtics beat the Memphis Grizzlies 112-103.
In the late games the Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns 122-118; Golden State Warriors were too strong for the Portland Trail Blazers 115-105 and the San Antonio Spurs had too much in the tank for the Los Angeles Clippers 122-111.
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