Celtics (23-5) 91; Pistons (14-12) 81

Boston's elite defense was the story in this victory, as Detroit shot just 33.3 percent from the field, 30.3 percent from three-point range and had just 14 assists on 28 made shots. Additionally, Reggie Jackson (2/1/3) and Andre Drummond (6/15/1) combined for eight points on 1-of-14 shooting. Al Horford (18/9/6) and Kyrie Irving (16/3/3) led the way for the Celtics, who improved their Eastern-best record.

Raptors (17-7) 102; Kings (8-18) 87

Per usual, DeMar DeRozan (25/3/9) and Kyle Lowry (15/12/6) led the Raptors to victory while Serge Ibaka (20/4/1) continued his hot streak, going 8-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-7 from three. Zach Randolph (19/11/1) had his third-straight double-double for the Kings and went 9-of-11 shooting. Overall, Toronto had 22 assists and 13 turnovers while Sacramento had 15 assists and 21 turnovers. It was the sixth-straight Raptors win.

Pacers (16-11) 126; Nuggets (14-12) 116

Victor Oladipo (47/7/6) continued his breakout year with a career-high 47 points on 15-of-28 shooting. He went 6-for-12 from beyond the arc and converted 11-of-13 free throws en route to the overtime home victory. Myles Turner (24/8/3) also dominated for Indiana, going 10-of-15 from the floor. Meanwhile, the threesome of Trey Lyles (25/5/0), Will Barton (21/6/9) and Gary Harris (21/5/2) all surpassed the 20-point threshold in the losing effort for Denver.

Timberwolves (16-11) 97; Mavericks (7-20) 92

Minnesota gutted out a close win due to the strong play of Karl-Anthony Towns (28/12/4) and Jimmy Butler (22/7/5), who went 10-for-15 and 9-for-17 from the field respectively. The T-Wolves were efficient offensively, shooting 36-for-72 (50.0 percent) and out-rebounded Dallas 45-to-33. The Mavs turned the ball over just 10 times and had six players score in double-figures, but only got to the free throw line nine times, converting seven of those attempts. Meanwhile, Minnesota went 18-of-23 from the charity stripe.

Pelicans (14-13) 131; 76ers (13-13) 124

New Orleans had a wildly-impressive offensive fourth quarter, outscoring the Sixers 44-29. The trio of Jrue Holiday (34/4/5), Anthony Davis (29/8/4) and DeMarcus Cousins (23/9/2) combined for 86 points on 29-for-50 shooting. Rajon Rondo (13/2/18) added a double-double with 18 assists and also had five steals for the Pelicans in the high-scoring affair. Philadelphia was led by JJ Redick (28/3/4) and Ben Simmons (27/5/10) since starters Joel Embiid (back) and Robert Covington (back) were both ruled out with minor injuries.

Knicks (13-13) 111; Hawks (6-20) 107

The Knicks improved to .500 on the campaign with the gutsy home win. Kristaps Porzingis (30/8/2) went 10-of-23 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line to lead New York while Doug McDermott (23/3/0) was on fire off the bench, going 9-of-13 shooting. Dennis Schroder (21/1/3) and Ersan Ilyasova (20/4/2) had efficient nights offensively for the Hawks, especially Ilyasova who went 5-of-6 from beyond the arc in the loss. The Knicks won despite hitting just 5-of-17 threes on the night.