Stephen Jackson scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter to help the Golden State Warriors overcome the Boston Celtics 99-89.
Paul Pierce scored 21 points for the Celtics, who now have lost two games in a row for the first time this season. They had a franchise-record 19-game winning streak ended on Thursday at the Los Angeles Lakers.
Chris Paul produced another excellent performance with 26 points and 10 assists as the New Orleans Hornets edged the Houston Rockets 88-79 in a crucial Southwest Division clash.
David West finished with 23 points for the Hornets, while Tyson Chandler added 14 and 12 boards. Yao Ming led Houston with 19 points and 12 boards, while Tracy McGrady was held to 11 on 2-of-11 shooting.
The injury-ravaged Utah Jazz outlasted the Dallas Mavericks 97-88 in a physical contest between the two Western Conference foes.
Utah were without injured forward Carlos Boozer (knee), centre Mehmet Okur (back) and forward Paul Millsap (knee) but Ronnie Brewer picked up the slack with 21 points and rookie centre Kosta Koufos added 18 and eight boards.
Deron Williams also added 17 points and 13 assists despite a poor shooting night. Jason Terry led Dallas with 26 points off the bench while Dirk Nowitzki, who was ejected early in the fourth quarter, had 17 and eight rebounds.
Kenyon Martin drove the lane and jammed home a hoop with nine seconds left to give the Denver Nuggets a 105-101 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Philadelphia had a chance to win the game but Andre Iguodala travelled with 3.8 seconds left as the 76ers blew a 17-point lead.
JR Smith scored 27 points, including seven of Denver's 15 3-pointers. Chauncey Billups added 26 for the Nuggets, who were without Carmelo Anthony (elbow).
The Miami Heat dominated the final period as they recorded their fourth victory in a row with a 90-77 triumph over the Chicago Bulls.
Dwyane Wade, the league's leading scorer, carried the load once again with 28 points. Second-year guard Daequan Cook buried three 3-pointers in a three-minute span in the fourth, helping turn a 64-64 tie into a 15-point advantage
Allen Iverson hit a fall-away jumper in the lane with less than one second remaining to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 90-88 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Iverson scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half. Tayshaun Prince added 16 points and 11 rebounds and Rodney Stuckey and Rasheed Wallace chipped in 12 points apiece for Detroit. Kevin Durant scored 26 points for the Thunder.The New Jersey Nets suffered a 95-87 loss at home to the Charlotte Bobcats. Emeka Okafor led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds as Charlotte grabbed an early lead which they never relinquished.
Al Jefferson collected 21 points and 15 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves ended their 13-game barren streak with a 120-107 victory over the out-of-form New York Knicks. Rashad McCants added 23 points off the bench for the Timberwolves,
Hakim Warrick scored 21 points off the bench as the Memphis Grizzlies ended a four-game losing run with a 108-105 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Jermaine O'Neal dominated inside and delivered a season-best 36 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Toronto Raptors topped the Sacramento Kings 107-101. John Salmons and Brad Miller led the Kings with 20 points each.