Reigning NBA champions the Milwaukee Bucks claimed another big win on Friday as they toppled the Chicago Bulls 118-112.

Jrue Holiday came up big down the stretch to finish on 26 points, while Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points and 16 rebounds as the Bucks made it three wins on the spin.

While the Bucks are regaining form at the right time, the Bulls have now lost four on the bounce, though they hold an identical 39-25 record to Milwaukee.

Holiday hit the game-winning layup with less than two seconds left in the Bucks' win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday and he scored 15 points in the final quarter to help ensure the Bucks' 14th win against the Bulls in their last 15 meetings.

DeMar DeRozan has 29 points but was kept well contained overall, with Zach LaVine top scoring for Chicago with 30.

It was far from plain sailing for the Bucks, however, with Chicago having overturned an initial 14-point deficit to lead by seven after the third quarter.

Suns edge out Knicks as Randle's temper flares 

Next up on the Bucks' tough run are the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns, who scraped onto 51 wins for the season with a 115-114 triumph over the New York Knicks.

Cameron Johnson hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to snag a comeback victory and finish with a career-high 38 points in the process.

The Suns, without Chris Paul and Devin Booker, looked set to lose out with the Knicks leading by 14 in the third quarter, only for Julius Randle to be ejected after a confrontation with Johnson.

Sixers make it five in a row

The Philadelphia 76ers reeled off a fifth straight win as they dispatched the Cleveland Cavaliers 125-119.

James Harden had 25 points and 11 rebounds to continue his strong start, while Joel Embiid got a relatively low, by his standards, 22 points on the board. That was no matter for Philadelphia, though, as Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points, with his haul including five three-pointers.

The Utah Jazz had a shocker as they went down 124-90 to the New Orleans Pelicans, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 33 points was not enough as the Oklahoma City Thunder lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and there were victories for the Houston Rockets, the Atlanta Hawks, the Detroit Pistons and the Orlando Magic.