Cavs break Boston drought

The Cleveland Cavaliers ended their nine-game losing run in Boston in emphatic style with a 108-88 win.

LeBron James led the Cavs with 36 points, nine assists and seven rebounds while the Celtics struggled at the offensive end without All-Star Paul Pierce who remained sidelined with a thumb injury.

The Milwaukee Bucks won for the fifth straight game 112-110 at the Indian Pacers.

John Salmons shot 20 points as the Bucks remained unbeaten since his trade from Chicago on February 18.

In the only other game, Chauncey Billups returned a game-high 37 points in a comfortable 127-112 win for the Denver Nuggets at the Golden State Warriors.

Hawks end Utah drought

Joe Johnson led the Atlanta Hawks to their first win in Utah for 17 years with 28 points as they triumphed 105-100.

The Hawks ended their long drought away to the Jazz thanks to Johnson, who also added six rebounds and six assists, while Josh Smith chipped in with 18 points.

The Milwaukee Bucks clinched their third consecutive win 83-67 against the New York Knicks after a dominant performance from centre Andrew Bogut.

The Australian scored 24 points and also hauled in 20 rebounds and made five blocks to further boost the Bucks' play-off hopes.

The Chicago Bulls suffered their first loss in five games as they went down 101-95 at Washington.

The Wizards were led by 25 points from Andray Blatche, however, the win was soured following an injury to newly-acquired Josh Howard.

Howard joined the Wizards in a trade from the Dallas Mavericks last week, but suffered a sprained knee in the opening quarter.

The Mavericks won for the fourth straight game with star man Dirk Nowitzki contributing 23 points in their 91-82 home win over the Indiana Pacers.

The Los Angeles Clippers rallied to claim a 98-94 win against the Charlotte Bobcats.

NBA: Thunder beat Knicks in overtime

The Oklahoma City Thunder secured their eighth straight victory with a 121-118 win at the New York Knicks.

The win spoiled an impressive debut for Knicks new boy Tracy McGrady.

Kevin Durant poured in 36 points for the Thunder to continue his run of scoring at least 25 points in a game to 27 games, equalling Allen Iverson's 2001 streak.

McGrady, a trade-deadline acquisition on Thursday, poured in 26 points in a losing cause for New York, who relinquished a six-point lead late in regulation to slip to a sixth consecutive loss.

Eric Gordon scored 30 points - including 14 in the final period - in the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Clippers' 99-89 win over the Sacramento Kings.

The Indiana Pacers, second bottom of the Eastern Conference, prevailed 125-115 at the Houston Rockets to snap a four-game losing run.

Danny Granger netted 36 points and TJ Ford scored a season-high 23 points including 12 in the final quarter as the Pacers overturned a nine-point deficit in the second half.

Stephen Jackson poured in a game-high 35 points for the Charlotte Bobcats but that was not enough to prevent his team going down 93-88 at Eastern Conference rivals the Milwaukee Bucks.

Dirk Nowitzki's 28-point haul led the Dallas Mavericks to a 97-91 victory over the Miami Heat to halt their opponents' five-game winning streak.

In other games, the Chicago Bulls thrashed the Philadelphia 76ers 122-90 and the Toronto Raptors beat the Washington Wizards 109-104.

Magic continue Cavaliers winless streak

The Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers stumbled to their third consecutive defeat on Sunday to Orlando Magic.

The Cavs had been enjoying a 13-game winning streak before losing to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. They then went down to the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday and followed that up with a 101-95 loss against the Magic at Amway Arena.

LeBron James poured in a game-high 33 points for the visitors but it was not enough as Dwight Howard's 22 points and 16 rebounds condemned the Cavs to their first three-game losing run for nearly two years.

Denver, second in the Western Conference, dented the Boston Celtics' fine away record with a 114-105 victory. All-Star duo Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets with 26 and 23 points respectively.

Ray Allen had 25 points for Boston but could not prevent his side slipping to a first road defeat in four games.
The Utah Jazz remained hot on Denver's heels by extending their winning run to four games with a 92-89 overtime victory at the Portland Trail Blazers. Carlos Boozer had 22 points and a career-high 23 rebounds as the Jazz rallied from 25 points down in the third quarter.

The Oklahoma City Thunder sealed a ninth successive win with a hard-fought 109-107 triumph at the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Durant's 32-point haul extending his run of games in which he has scored at least 25 points to 28 games.

The Golden State Warriors, second-bottom of the Western Conference, overturned an 18-point deficit to beat the Atlanta Hawks 108-104, thanks in no small part to a 32-point contribution from Stephen Curry.

The Detroit Pistons clinched a 109-101 overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs. Tim Duncan had a game-high 28 points for the Spurs but Richard Hamilton (27 points) and Rodney Stuckey (20) led the Pistons to victory.

In other games, the Memphis Grizzlies won 104-94 at the New Jersey Nets, the New Orleans Hornets triumphed 102-94 over the Houston Rockets and the Phoenix Suns prevailed 104-88 against the Sacramento Kings.