The visitors had looked well beaten against Stoke City before a push on Defoe by Geoff Cameron gave the striker his chance from the spot, the striker duly converting for his 17th goal of the season.
But Newcastle's 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace still pushed Sunderland into the bottom three, with three games to play.
Mark Hughes's side had conceded 14 goals in the four games before Saturday but went ahead through Marko Arnautovic after Peter Crouch had appeared to impede Younes Kaboul.
(Reporting by Neil Robinson, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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