The Charlotte Hornets condemned the Detroit Pistons to their fourth straight loss and boosted their own play-off hopes with a 104-91 victory.Kemba Walker hit 31 points and had eight rebounds as Charlotte recorded a third straight win and moved one game behind the Pistons in the battle to claim the final play-off spot in the Eastern Conference.Walker scored 20 in the first half, while Frank Kaminsky scored 24 and Jeremy Lamb added 17 in the victory.

The Charlotte Hornets kept their NBA play-off hopes alive with a dramatic 113-111 victory over the Toronto Raptors.Jeremy Lamb – who less than a fortnight ago hit a buzzer-beater from his own half to secure victory against Toronto – nailed a game-winning three-pointer with under four seconds left on Friday night.There was still time for Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard to see a potential leveller get stuck between the rim and the backboard with less than a second left as Charlotte held on.

James Harden amassed 31 points as the Houston Rockets downed the Los Angeles Clippers 135-103 at the Staples Center.The reigning MVP made his case for this year’s accolade as another 30-plus game powered his side to their fourth-straight victory.Team-mate Chris Paul was not far behind, finishing with 29 points, and had fans on their feet with a buzzer-beating three-pointer at end of the third quarter.Houston sit third in the Western Conference, with the Clippers in sixth, potentially setting up a first-round play-off game between the pair.The Charlotte Hornets, meanwhile, kept their faint play-off hopes alive with a 115-109 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.Kemba Walker proved the Hornets – in 10th place in the Eastern Conference – have not given up on their post-season chances, pouring in 21 points in the fourth quarter and finishing with 32 for the night.

A free throw from Karl-Anthony Towns with half a second remaining clinched a 131-130 overtime victory for the Minnesota Timberwolves against the Golden State Warriors.Despite trailing by 14 points at half-time, the Wolves fought back and outscored the Warriors 32-18 in the third quarter.As the game headed into overtime, back-to-back three-pointers from Anthony Tolliver and Jerryd Bayless helped the Wolves take an early advantage, until Steph Curry tied the scores from the corner.Towns was then fouled by Kevin Durant on the inbounds pass, resulting in the game-winning free throw.

Steph Curry hit 36 points as the Golden State Warriors regained their top spot in the Western Conference with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.Minnesota went into the game having lost their last three and four Warriors put up double figures in the 117-107 victory.Curry scored 22 of his 36 in the third quarter, Klay Thompson scored 28 and Kevin Durant 17, while Karl-Anthony Towns top scored for the Timberwolves with 26 points and 21 rebounds.

Kawhi Leonard led the way with 25 points as the Toronto Raptors dealt another blow to the Los Angeles Lakers’ forlorn NBA hopes.Leonard was backed up by 20 points from Norman Powell as the playoff-bound Raptors won 111-98 to sit 2.5 games behind Eastern Conference leaders the Milwaukee Bucks.LeBron James led all scorers with 29 points but his Lakers are languishing 7.5 games back from the final play-off place in the Western Conference.

Devin Booker scored 37 points as the Phoenix Suns had an unlikely victory against the high-flying Golden State Warriors.The two teams sit at opposite ends of the Western Conference but Phoenix rallied in the fourth quarter to secure a 115-111 win.Booker scored 13 consecutive points to help the Suns to their first win over the Warriors in 19 attempts, while Klay Thompson had 28 points for Golden State.

The Los Angeles Lakers continued a bleak losing run with a 120-107 defeat to the Boston Celtics.LeBron James finished with 30 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his 80th career triple-double but his efforts proved in vain as Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris dealt another blow to the Lakers’ play-off hopes.Irving helped keep the Celtics on track for the post-season with 30 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Smart and Morris both finished with 16 points to help guide Boston to their third straight win.The Lakers – without three starters due to injury – have now lost five in a row.

The Houston Rockets posted a sixth win in a row as they toppled the Toronto Raptors 107-95.James Harden finished with 35 points – a 39th consecutive game in which he has scored 28 points or more – while Gerald Green added 18 off the bench.Toronto’s loss marked the end of a seven-game winning streak at home.Defending champions the Golden State Warriors slumped to a 128-95 loss to the Boston Celtics.Gordon Hayward had 30 points off the bench as Boston took control early on in the game, leading by 25 points at half-time.Kyrie Irving added 19 points and 11 assists for the Celtics, who had started the game having lost five of six since the All-Star break.

James Harden hooped a huge 58 points as the Houston Rockets fired into action to beat the Miami Heat 121-118.The Rockets came back from 21 behind in the third quarter to clinch their fourth win in a row.Harden was three points off his career best, which he set against the New York Knicks on January 23, while Austin Rivers scored 17 and Chris Paul and Gary Clark got 14 each.

Russell Westbrook set an NBA record with his 10th straight triple-double as the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Portland Trail Blazers 120-111.The Thunder star recorded 21 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists to break a tie with Wilt Chamberlain for most consecutive triple-doubles.Paul George also scored a triple-double for Oklahoma with 47 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

Stephen Curry was the fourth-quarter hero as the Golden State Warriors claimed an 11th straight road win at Phoenix Suns.Curry scored 10 fourth-quarter points as Phoenix, who led by as many as 17 in the first quarter, failed to hold on to a six-point advantage with under nine minutes left on the clock.The Warriors scored 13 consecutive points at 94-88 down, and Curry’s late scoring spree saw them home 117-107 with Klay Thompson (25) top scoring.Anthony Davis returned from a three-week absence to score 32 points as the New Orleans Pelicans beat Minnesota Timberwolves 122-117.Davis was booed during his pre-game introduction and whenever he touched the ball during his first appearance since asking for a trade and recovering from a finger injury.The All-Star forward sat out the final 15-plus minutes, but there was no sign of injury as he stayed on the bench and Jrue Holiday (27) and rookie Kenrich Williams (19) guided the Pelicans to victory.Former Pelican Nikola Mirotic, acquired by Milwaukee at the trade deadline, was missing as the Bucks won 122-107 at the Dallas Mavericks.Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as the Bucks recorded a sixth consecutive win, with Brook Lopez (20), Eric Bledsoe (18) and Malcolm Brogdon (18) also in scoring form.The New York Knicks suffered a 15th successive defeat in losing 120-103 to the Detroit Pistons.Andre Drummond collected 29 points and 20 rebounds and Blake Griffin had 26 points as Detroit won for the fourth time in five games and their sixth straight win versus New York.Dennis Smith Jr scored a career-high 31 points for the NBA-worst Knicks, who have now lost 23 of their last 24 games.

The Toronto Raptors came out on top in an Eastern Conference battle as they downed the Philadelphia 76ers away from home.Kyle Lowry – amid rumours he has been offered in a trade – scored 20 points and was matched by team-mate Serge Ibaka who also grabbed 10 rebounds.Kawhi Leonard top-scored for the Raptors with 24 points but 76er Joel Embiid’s 44th triple-double – 37 points and 13 rebounds – proved in vain as Toronto held out for the 119-107 win.

James Harden scored at least 30 points for a 26th straight game as the Houston Rockets beat Utah Jazz 125-98.The shooting guard scored 29 of his 43 points by half-time and surpassed the 30-point marker with a driving floating jump shot in the third quarter.The reigning MVP’s hot streak is the third longest in NBA history and also helped the Rockets snap a two-game losing streak.Harden also had five assists, 12 rebounds, four blocks and six steals, while Donovan Mitchell had to settle for a top score of 26 points for Utah.The Los Angeles Lakers, meanwhile, struggled without LeBron James, losing 115-101 against the Golden State Warriors, with their star man rested after returning from a lengthy injury on Thursday night.Klay Thompson was back on court after missing one game due to illness and finished with 28 points, two assists and five rebounds.

Paul George poured in 36 points and Russell Westbrook contributed a triple-double as the Oklahoma City Thunder swept aside the Portland Trail Blazers 123-114.Westbrook’s 29 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds lifted the Thunder to a third successive win after a fixture in which they led for almost the entirety of the match.Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum had 34 points and 31 points respectively for the Trail Blazers, whose three-match winning streak was snapped.

Derrick Rose sunk a two-point shot with less than a second remaining to help the Minnesota Timberwolves come from behind to beat the Phoenix Suns 116-114.Rose came off the bench and played 38 minutes, scoring 31 points while Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 as the Suns lost their fourth game in a row.TJ Warren had 21 for the Suns who sit bottom of the Pacific Division with an 11-27 record.

A last-gasp three-pointer from Victor Oladipo snatched the Indiana Pacers a thrilling 119-116 overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls.With just 0.3 seconds remaining, the point guard, who finished with 36 points and seven rebounds, secured the Pacers a sixth straight win.Zach LaVine top-scored with 31 points and forced the extra period with a three-pointer at the end of regulation, but saw his final attempt from the corner hit the basket a split second after the buzzer.

Paul George finished with 37 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 107-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.Facing a tough crowd after rejecting the Lakers last summer, the five-time NBA All-Star scored nine of his points in the fourth quarter as the Thunder fought their way back from a five-point deficit.The victory puts Oklahoma on seven wins from 10 games, while the Lakers have fallen to 1-3 since losing LeBron James to a groin injury.Joel Embiid top scored for the Philadelphia 76ers with 42 points, tying for his season high, and added 18 rebounds in the 132-127 win over the Phoenix Suns.Ben Simmons scored 29 points and JJ Redick added 27 for the 76ers who narrowly saw off a second-half rally from the Suns after leading by 30 in the third quarter.The Detroit Pistons ended a three-game losing run, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 101-94.

The Toronto Raptors came through a dramatic fourth quarter to beat the Miami Heat 106-104 and improve their NBA-best record.Kawhi Leonard led the way with 30 points, eight rebounds and two steals, while Danny Green hit a three-pointer to put the Raptors ahead with just over 20 seconds remaining.The final quarter saw the lead change hands 12 times, with Miami missing the chance to take the win on the game’s final possession.Toronto now stand on 26 wins and 10 losses for the season.

Steph Curry nailed a last-gasp lay-up to give the Golden State Warriors a narrow 129-127 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.The Clippers’ Avery Bradley tied the game at 127-127 with 20.6 seconds left on the clock, having seen the Warriors grasp a 103-94 lead going into the fourth.After a big third quarter which saw Curry contribute 11 points, it was then left to the point guard to salvage the victory, finding the basket with 0.5 seconds left on the clock and walking away with a night’s total of 42 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Kawhi Leonard matched a season-high 37 points to lift the Toronto Raptors to a 126-110 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.The 27-year-old added six rebounds and was backed up by team-mate OG Anunoby, who tied his career best to score 21 points.Toronto, still without injured All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, improved to 25-9 for the season as the Cavs fell to their fourth loss in five games.

Blake Griffin recorded a triple-double for Detroit but missed a last-second three-pointer as the Pistons went down 107-104 to the Milwaukee Bucks.Griffin finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists but it was not enough to deny the Bucks, for whom Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.Milwaukee were outscored in three of the four quarters but their performance in the second, which they dominated 30-16, proved key as they improved to 20-9, 1.5 games behind the Toronto Raptors at the top of the Eastern Conference.James Harden scored almost half his side’s points as Houston Rockets saw off the Utah Jazz 102-97The in-form guard, who brought up a half-century of points against the LA Lakers last week, poured in another 47 as the Rockets recorded their fourth win in a row.Paul George scored 16 points in five minutes as the Oklahoma City Thunder raced away from the Chicago Bulls in a 121-96 victory, while Rudy Gay finished with 21 and LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan 20 each as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-96.Elsewhere, the Phoenix Suns downed the New York Knicks 128-110 for their third straight win, and Karl-Anthony Towns collected 14 and 14 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves – for whom nine players scored in double digits – saw off the Sacramento Kings 132-105.

LeBron James and Lonzo Ball finished with triple-doubles as the Los Angeles Lakers routed the Charlotte Hornets 128-100.In their largest road win since winning the championship in the 2009-10 season, it was also the first time Lakers team-mates recorded triple-doubles in the same game since Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1982.LeBron ended the victory with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, while Ball capped off a thrilling night with numbers of 16-10-10.The Boston Celtics, meanwhile, saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end as the Detroit Pistons snapped a six-game losing run with a 113-104 win.

The Boston Celtics clinched their seventh consecutive victory by beating the Washington Wizards 130-125 after overtime.Kyrie Irving scored back-to-back three pointers late in the extra period to secure a nailbiting win for the Celtics.The side overcame an 11-point deficit at the start of the third quarter as they improved their record to 17-10 for the season.

The Milwaukee Bucks pulled back from an early charge by the Chicago Bulls as Khris Middleton nailed a tie-breaking three-pointer to earn a 116-113 home victory.The Bulls racked up a 40-30 advantage in the first quarter but stalled in the second, leaving the scores near dead-level at half-time.Helped by a season-high 36 points for Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks preserved a narrow three-point lead into the fourth, but the Bulls hit back, first to 111-111 then 113-113.It came down to a late intervention by Middleton, who struck from beyond the arc with 5.2 seconds left to lift Milwaukee clear.

Reigning NBA champions the Golden State Warriors won their second game on the bounce thanks to a last-gasp Klay Thompson lay-up.The Warriors had lost four-in-a-row but had a win against the Portland Trail Blazers to break the run on Friday night.And Thompson sealed a 117-116 win against the Sacramento Kings as Thompson put away his own miss with five seconds left on the clock as part of a 31-point night, while Kevin Durant had 44.Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists as the Milwaukee Bucks came from behind to beat the San Antonio Spurs 135-129.The Bucks trailed 106-95 with 11 minutes left on the clock, but the Greek put Milwaukee ahead with a pair of free throws with less than three minutes remaining.

LeBron James was given a hero’s welcome as he returned to Cleveland and was instrumental in the Los Angeles Lakers 109-105 victory.James, who left the Cavaliers for the second time in the close season, had 32 points and 14 rebounds on the night at the Quicken Loans Arena.The Cavs looked as if they may nick their third win of the season, but James was part of an 11-point run to put the visitors on top and Kyle Korver missed a three-point shot with less than 20 seconds left.The Lakers have now won two on the bounce, while the Cavaliers, who appeared in the NBA Finals last season, sit bottom of the Central Division and the league with a 2-14 record.The Houston Rockets continued their purple patch, with James Harden scoring 43 as they beat the Detroit Pistons 126-124.The Rockets, who have won five in a row, survived a scare after seeing a lead of 14 with five minutes left in the game cut down to two at the buzzer.Joel Embiid had a double-double (31 point and 19 rebounds) as the Philadelphia 76ers continued their undefeated streak at home with a 121-120 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.Anthony Davis missed a third free throw with 2.5 seconds which could have sent the game into overtime.

Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 43 points to lift the Boston Celtics to an overtime victory against the Toronto Raptors.The Celtics guard registered 17 points in the final eight minutes of regulation and then rallied in extra time, either making or assisting on every basket to see out the 123-116 win.He finished with 11 assists and was backed up by Jayson Tatum, who added 21 points and seven rebounds, as the Raptors slumped to their third loss in a row after opening the season 12-1.

LeBron James propelled himself up to fifth in the NBA’s all-time scoring list as he led the LA Lakers to a 126-117 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.A three-point play with 3:55 to go saw James surpass Wilt Chamberlain to take the number five spot.Finishing with 44 points, as well as 10 rebounds and nine assists, his career total increased to 31,425 points during a fourth win in a row for the Lakers.

Gordon Hayward returned to Utah for the first time since leaving the Jazz 16 months ago, but saw his Boston Celtics defeated 123-115 at the Vivint Smart Home Arena.After missing most of last year with a nasty ankle injury, Hayward had 13 points and seven assists on Friday night but his former team came out on top thanks to 27 points from Joe Ingles.The shooting guard tied for his career best and added a season-high seven assists and combined for a total of 68 points with Donovan Mitchell and Jae Crowder.

James Harden made a go-ahead three-pointer with just 34 seconds left to help the Houston Rockets claim a 98-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers.Finishing with 28 points overall, the NBA’s reigning MVP went on to make four straight free throws to clinch the victory.Victor Oladipo led Indiana with 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting, but it was not enough to hold off the Rockets.Six Oklahoma City players finished with double figures in scoring as the Thunder recorded a 122-116 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.Dennis Schroder scored 11 of his 22 points in the final quarter, making a pair of free throws in the final 20 seconds to help the Thunder clinch their fifth straight win.Russell Westbrook left the court late in the third quarter with what was believed to be a sprained ankle.

Giannis Antetokounmpo notched up his second triple-double of the season as the Milwaukee Bucks routed the Sacramento Kings 144-109.The Greek Freak claimed 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists as the Bucks improved to 8-1, while Eric Bledsoe added 17.The Kings, coming off a five-game winning streak, had contributions from Justin Jackson (22 points) and Buddy Hield (19) but the Bucks were too strong.

Derrick Rose rolled back time on Wednesday night and he poured in a career-high 50 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Utah Jazz 128-125.Rose has been besieged by injury since winning the league’s MVP award while with Chicago in 2011, but was unstoppable as the T-Wolves went 4-4 for the season.Defending champions the Golden State Warriors continued to provoke awe with their stunning attack, putting up 131 points as they saw off the New Orleans Pelicans by 10.Steph Curry put in 37 points in 37 minutes and made five three-pointers for the eighth time out of nine this season. Jrue Holiday scored 28 for the Pelicans.LeBron James hit the game-winning free throw to crown his 29-point show as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks 114-113.With the game locked at 113, Wesley Matthews fouled James who missed his first attempt but made sure of the second, JaVale McGee backing him up with 15 rebounds.