LeBron James scored 37 points and Russell Westbrook added 23 points and 15 assists off the bench as the Los Angeles Lakers sneaked past the Sacramento Kings 136-134 on Saturday.
The win made it five straight victories for the Lakers, who were missing Anthony Davis (foot), as they improved to 19-21.
Dennis Schroder hit two free-throws with 3.1 seconds remaining before De'Aaron Fox missed a 43-foot attempt on the buzzer. Fox had squared the game up at 134-all with a 14-foot shot with 7.1 seconds remaining.
James' driving layup and one with 48 seconds left had earned the Lakers the lead which they never gave up.
The four-time NBA MVP scored 10 fourth-quarter points, shooting at 50 per cent for the game, finishing with eight rebounds and seven assists.
Schroder added 27 points with four-of-five from three-point range, while Thomas Bryant added 29 points and 14 rebounds.
Westbrook played 34 minutes, making a strong contribution, becoming only the second player to reach 20 points, five rebounds and 15 assists off the bench since starters were first tracked in 1970-71.
Fox scored 34 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field, with Domantas Sabonis having 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
Doncic triple-double in Mavs win
Luka Doncic had his ninth triple-double of the season with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Dallas Mavericks beat the New Orleans Pelicans 127-117.
Dallas raced to a 34-15 quarter-time lead with Christian Wood starring early to finish with 28 points, while exciting rookie Jaden Hardy scored 15 for the second straight time.
The Pels, playing without leading scorers Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum, were led by Jonas Valanciunas with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
Tatum guides Celtics past Spurs
Jayson Tatum scored 34 points on 13-of-26 shooting as he lifted the Boston Celtics past the San Antonio Spurs 121-116.
Tatum scored a tiebreaking jumper with 33 seconds left, while Jaylen Brown added 29 points and Malcolm Brogdon contributed 23 off the bench.
The Spurs pushed the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics all game, with eight players scoring double digits for the home team, led by Zach Collins with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
LeBron James claimed it does not feel right to match records when it comes in "a losing effort".
James is averaging 28.9 points per game this season for the Los Angeles Lakers, and amassed 25 points in Friday's 130-114 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
That victory made it four wins on the bounce for the Lakers, who have begun a bounce back from a dismal streak of one win in six.
But the Lakers remain 12th in the Western Conference with an 18-21 record for the season.
James, who turned 38 last month, is closing in on the all-time regular-season points record, held by former Milwaukee Bucks and Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who accumulated 38,387 across a long career.
Yet James is not interested in achievements if they come when the team are struggling.
"I want to win. [The losing is] not sitting well with me," James told ESPN.
"I don't like having accomplishments, and it don't feel right, when it comes in a losing effort.
"We sit here right now as a franchise and as a team that's below .500. We've been playing some good basketball as of late, but we want to and I want to win at the highest level.
"Breaking records or setting records or passing greats in a losing effort has never been a DNA of mine."
James was instrumental for the Lakers against the Hawks, adding 10 assists and seven rebounds to his tally of points.
Russell Westbrook and Kendrick Nunn also impressed for the Lakers, who were depleted by injuries. Indeed, James himself had only just recovered from illness.
Westbrook said: "There are going to be times where guys go down, unfortunately, and we have a group of guys that have just been preparing themselves for when it's their moment to play and play well.
"[It] seems like we've been hitting a good stride of figuring that out."
Coach Darvin Ham said: "It's motivating them to step their games up. They know I'll put anybody out there, and if they're playing the right way, they'll play a significant amount of minutes."
Kevin Durant hailed Kyrie Irving's ability to handle the pressure like a "walk in the park" after he stepped up when the Brooklyn Nets needed him in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Irving was 7-for-22 shooting at Smoothie King Center on Friday, but sunk a mammoth three-pointer with only 43 seconds to play as the Nets secured a 108-102 win on the road.
Star duo Irving and Durant missed 32 shots between them, but Brooklyn made it 13 wins out of 14 on the back of a loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Seven of Irving's 19 points came in the final 72 seconds of the contest and Durant, who scored a game-high 33 points, saluted his team-mate's composure when the game was in the balance.
"He approaches it like it's a minute into the game," Durant said. "That's how calm and relaxed he is.
"Even though the stakes are different at the beginning of the game and the end of the game, I still believe that he's the same regardless of what the time is on the clock.
"He plays that way, calm and cool, under control under pressure in the tight moments. It feels like just a walk in the park for him.
"The great ones understand that each possession is important and if you stay even keeled throughout the whole game, you're usually in solid shape in the fourth."
Irving feels his ability to focus on the job in hand is crucial.
"Basketball's just a very simple art form," Irving said. "So if I don't bring all my extra distractions or anything that I'm going through mentally into the game, then I feel like we have a great chance of winning every ballgame."
The Nets are second in the Eastern Conference at 26-13 behind the 27-12 Boston Celtics.
Zach Lavine torched the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night to deliver a 126-112 road win for the Chicago Bulls.
Lavine finished two points off his season-high with 41 points on 14-of-19 shooting, and he made history with his marksmanship from long range.
He hit 11 of his 13 three-point attempts (84.6 per cent), joining Stephen Curry as the only players in NBA history to hit at least 11 three-pointers in a game at over 80 per cent efficiency.
Over his past five games, Lavine is averaging 27.6 points while shooting 54.8 per cent from the field, 55.3 per cent from deep and 96.2 per cent at the free throw line.
Against the 76ers, Lavine was supported well by third-year forward and former top-five draft pick Patrick Williams, who scored 18 points on seven-of-11 shooting with six rebounds.
It is the latest impressive sign from Williams, who had his best game of the season on Wednesday with 22 points (six-of-eight shooting), seven rebounds and two steals in an upset win over the Brooklyn Nets.
The 76ers were without franchise centrepiece Joel Embiid, and James Harden put together a poor performance, finishing four-of-17 from the field for his 17 points and 11 assists.
Chicago have won seven of their past 10 to improve their record to 18-21 – two games behind the Eastern Conference's eight seed, currently occupied by the Miami Heat (20-19).
Lakers win fourth on the trot
LeBron James was at his playmaking best in the Los Angeles Lakers' 130-114 victory on the road against the Atlanta Hawks.
James had 17 points and 10 assists at three-quarter time, and after the Hawks cut the margin to 10 points early in the last period, James responded by scoring eight of the Lakers' next 10 points to put the game to bed.
He shot 10-of-19 for his 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, while Russell Westbrook flirted with another triple-double off the bench, posting 18 points (seven-of-14), 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Nuggets take top spot in the West
The Denver Nuggets (26-13) are now alone atop the Western Conference standings after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-108.
It is the Nuggets' ninth win from their past 11 fixtures, and they were once again carried by reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic with 28 points (10-of-17 shooting), 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
Jokic averaged 29.2 points, 12.3 rebounds and 10.1 assists during the month of December as he continues to build a case to become the first MVP three-peat since Larry Bird from 1984-86.
The Dallas Mavericks are waiving Kemba Walker, who has played only nine games for the team since signing in November 2022.
ESPN reported the Mavs would cut their ties with Walker on Friday ahead of his salary for the remainder of the season becoming guaranteed this weekend.
Walker moved to Dallas last year after he was waived by the Detroit Pistons, for whom he did not play a game.
The four-time All-Star was brought in to boost a then struggling Mavs team who are increasingly reliant on superstar Luka Doncic after Jalen Brunson left for the New York Knicks at the end of last season.
Dallas have since improved considerably, climbing to fourth in the Western Conference at 22-17, but their ascent has owed more to Doncic's form than Walker's contributions.
While Doncic is leading the NBA in scoring 34.0 points per game, including 41.7 in the team's seven-game winning run across Christmas and New Year, Walker has played only 144 minutes for the Mavs.
Over nine games, the point guard averaged 8.0 points and 2.1 assists in 16 minutes, starting just once.
That sole start was in an overtime defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers, in which Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie were absent as Walker scored 32 points.
News of Walker's imminent departure from Dallas was greeted with a message from Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, hinting at his interest in a return for a former team-mate.
Walker spent two years in Boston between 2019 and 2021, although he played only 99 times for the Celtics.
Joe Mazzulla called for the Boston Celtics to put on a show "over and over again" after they swept the Dallas Mavericks aside on Thursday.
The Celtics dished out a 124-95 defeat to the Mavericks at American Airlines Center on a great night for Jayson Tatum.
Tatum came up with his first triple-double of the NBA season; scoring 29 points, providing 10 assists and taking 14 rebounds in a brilliant all-round display.
It was only the second triple-double of his career and took Boston to 27-12, upstaging Luka Doncic as the Mavericks' seven-game winning streak ground to a halt.
Interim coach Mazzulla wants to see consistency from the Eastern Conference leaders Celtics, who got back on track after suffering back-to-back losses.
He said: "They showed me they can do it one time. They have to do it over and over again."
Jaylen Brown put up 19 points and seven claimed rebounds, while Mavericks superstar Doncic finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, and three assists before being left on the bench for the final quarter.
Mazzulla added: "When we're at our best, we play really good basketball on both ends of the floor with high effort for a long period of time.
"And then we go through a couple of games where we lose that. What I love about tonight was we did bounce back."
Michael Malone will always allow his Denver Nuggets team to enjoy the wins but said "I'm not going to party and celebrate" after a rout of the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
Jamal Murray top scored with 18 points as the high-flying Nuggets ran out 122-91 winners at Ball Arena to improve to 25-13 on the season and 15-3 on home court.
It was another statement victory in a season full of excellent performance and leaves the Nuggets top of the Western Conference, with an identical record to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Head coach Malone encouraged his players to enjoy the moment, while also emphasising there is plenty of work still to be done.
"I've been around people who would not allow themselves to enjoy the wins, to enjoy the moment. I'm not that guy," Malone said.
"But I'm also not going to party and celebrate.
"That was a hell of a win for us. A convincing win, from beginning to end. Everybody contributed.
"We're in first place in the Western Conference. We're not there yet. But we're on our way. I like where we're at and, more importantly, I like who I'm going there with."
Murray scored 13 of his 18 points in a blistering first quarter and it was a welcome performance considering his hit-and-miss form since returning from an ACL injury that ruled him out of last season.
Following a 124-111 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves last time out, Malone said with Murray on the plan ride home for a heart-to-heart.
"He takes ownership. He has to help himself as well," Malone said of Murray.
Murray added that the win shows the level the Nuggets have to aspire to on a consistent performance.
He said: "Wins like this give us a lot of confidence and build a lot of chemistry. Sets a standard for us."
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