The Atlanta Hawks scored 13 unanswered points during the third quarter to win 104-87 against a Dallas Mavericks team which struggled in the absence of suspended point guard Rajon Rondo.
The Hawks stretched their lead in the NBA Eastern Conference to eight games while the Mavericks missed a chance to make up ground in the more hard-fought Western Conference playoff race.
Dallas suspended Rondo before the game at Atlanta for conduct detrimental to the team after he had a heated exchange on the court with coach Rick Carlisle in the third quarter of the previous night's game against Toronto.
Carlisle said it was a one-game suspension and said Rondo will start against Brooklyn on Saturday.
Elsewhere, Houston ended a run of six straight losses to the Clippers by downing Los Angeles 110-105.
James Harden had 21 points while Corey Brewer scored 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for the Rockets.
Portland's Wesley Matthews scored 31 points to lead the Trail Blazers to a 111-95 victory over San Antonio.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Blazers, who took their first win since the All-Star break.
Sacramento won 102-90 at home against Memphis, with Rudy Gay scoring 28 points for the Kings.
And Charlotte deepened the woe surrounding Chicago by taking a 98-86 road win as the Bulls dwelled on life without Derrick Rose, who required yet another knee operation.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist contributed 18 points and 12 rebounds while Mo Williams scored 17 points for the Hornets, who won comfortably despite having lost their previous five.
The Bulls revealed the previous day that Rose has a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Phoenix ended a five-game skid with an impressive road win, with the Suns prevailing 110-96 at Denver, while New Orleans' Quincy Pondexter scored a career-high 25 points as the Pelicans beat Brooklyn 102-96 for their third straight victory.
Minnesota's prodigal son Kevin Garnett made an emotional return to the Timberwolves after eight years away, and the hosts won 97-77 against Washington.
Miami rallied to force overtime after having trailed by eight points in the final minute of regulation, and then beat Orlando 93-90.
Milwaukee built a big early lead and defeated Philadelphia 104-88, giving new signing Michael Carter-Williams a victory over his previous team.
The Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a double-figure deficit and won 100-97 at Utah.
Boston scored 20 unanswered points during the second half and ran away to a 115-94 win against New York.
