Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded 42 points while Zion Williamson was largely subdued by an excellent performance from Jrue Holiday as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New Orleans Pelicans.
Antetokounmpo made 12 of 17 field goal attempts, while also sinking 17 out of a hefty 22 shots from the free-throw line.
Williamson was restricted to 18 points in his team's 128-119 defeat at Smoothie King Center, with former Pelican Holiday shining back in New Orleans.
"I'm guessing I've done it quite a bit here," Holiday said, after also scoring 18 points with 11 assists. "So, just coming off that screen and letting it fly.
"We know [Williamson] is such a big part of their offense that if he's not scoring, we had a good chance. I feel like we kind of frustrated him."
Along with Antetokounmpo, three other players scored 30+ points, with Brook Lopez helping out his fellow Buck, while Jonas Valanciunas (37) and CJ McCollum (31) stepped up while Williamson struggled for the Pels.
Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer reserved praise for Holiday and the job he did on Williamson.
"Jrue, in a kind of subtle, understated way is very, very strong and I think he loved the challenge, beating him to a spot, having the strength to kind of take a hit, pressuring him a little bit," he said.
"There's probably only a handful of guards, if even that many, like Jrue that could maybe pick him up higher, pick him up earlier, do some different things to him."
Damian Lillard wrote his name into his franchise's record books on Monday as he surpassed Hall-of-Famer Clyde Drexler to become the Portland Trail Blazers' new all-time leading scorer.
He entered the contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder trailing by just 20 points, and he crossed that mark with a three-pointer late in the third quarter on his way to 28 points on nine-of-17 shooting.
Lillard is also the franchise leader for career points per game at 24.7, meaning he reached the 18,040 point figure in 137 fewer games than Drexler, who sported a career average of 20.8 per game.
Speaking after the game, Lillard said how despite being largely unbothered by individual accomplishments, this is one he has had his eye on.
"It's a great feeling to reach the top," he said. "It's been a goal of mine, and the list has so many players, great history of our organization, so to finally be number one is a special accomplishment that I'm proud of.
"Even during the game tonight, I wasn't playing focused on getting to the record. I was playing the game just trying to win. I knew it would happen eventually."
In a statement, Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin paid tribute to his star player.
"Damian's commitment to Portland is now incapsulated with this prestigious career milestone," he said. "His dedication, humility and hard work have been pillars for his path to this very moment.
"On behalf of the organization, we would like to congratulate Damian on this great achievement and look forward to many more."
It is one of many franchise records Lillard will likely claim by the end of his stint in Portland, already owning the record for three-pointers with 2229 – almost 1000 more than C.J. McCollum in second-place (1297) – as well as made free throws (4047).
He is also only 460 assists away from Terry Porter's franchise record (5319), and at his current career average of 6.7 per game, Lillard will reach that mark in another 69 contests.
While it was all about Lillard for Portland, the Thunder rained on his parade as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drained a game-winning buzzer-beater to cap his 35-point night, including 24 in the second half.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the league's third-leading scorer this season at 31.3 points per game, and is the current favourite for Most Improved Player.
LeBron James says replacing the injured Anthony Davis will be a "collective group effort" for the Los Angeles Lakers as he recorded his own fourth straight 30-point game in Sunday's 119-117 win over the Washington Wizards.
The Lakers will reportedly be without All-Star Davis for a month after scans revealed a foot injury having limped out of Friday's win over the Denver Nuggets.
Davis, who has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, had been enjoying an outstanding campaign, averaging 27.4 points and a career-high 12.1 rebounds per game.
All five of the Lakers' starters scored double figures on Sunday, with Lonnie Walker adding 21 points, while center Thomas Bryant contributed 16 points with 10 rebounds, including the game-winning dunk. Dennis Schroder and Austin Reaves each scored 12 points.
"Whoever is available to play, we have to make plays," James, who scored 33 points with seven rebounds and nine assists, told reporters.
"We're all NBA players and we have to go out and trust the game plan the coaches put out there. Tonight, we were able to do that for the majority of the game."
Davis only played 76 times across the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons due to injury, while James, now 37, regularly missed games last season too.
"It's going to be a collective group effort," James said about covering Davis' absence. "It's always been health with us, since we all joined forces.
"It's always about health. If we can stay healthy or close to and have guys on the floor available, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win because we're going to play hard, play the right way."
James came up with the game-winning play with a pass for Bryant's tie-breaking dunk with 7.1 seconds remaining, although the four-time MVP almost lost the ball in midcourt in the lead-up. Kyle Kuzma missed a three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham declined to confirm reports on Davis' timeline after the game.
"We'll probably have something out official tomorrow," Ham said. "He saw some doctors tonight, so we'll see."
Kevin Durant was so "in the zone" against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday that he lost count of his shooting numbers.
Durant scored 43 points as the Brooklyn Nets won 124-121 at Little Caesars Arena, including a career-best quarter as he put up 26 in the third.
It was an important period of the game for the Nets, who trailed 71-54 at half-time, and Durant admitted he had struggled to keep up with his own statistics as he helped turn things around.
"I usually know how many shot attempts [I have]," he said. "But when I forget, that's when I really know I'm super, super in the zone.
"I don't know for sure what my shot attempts or my points [were]. I felt like the ball was coming to my hands so fast so I couldn't even process it in my mind and I looked up, 'Damn, I got 39.' I didn't think I had that much. But it was good to get back in the game and give us some momentum and energy."
The Nets sit on 19-12 after winning six in a row, and coach Jacque Vaughn described it as an "efficient night" after Durant also moved to 16th in the NBA's all-time scorers' list, surpassing John Havlicek and Paul Pierce.
"When the water started running, it started pouring," Vaughn said. "The teams throw everything at [Durant], so that piece of it, I think it warrants that conversation.
"Just because at the end of the night, you look at the stat sheet and it's an extremely efficient night... You just see it in a variety of ways, which means his game is getting better still, which is pretty difficult to say but there's some truth behind it."
Kyrie Irving also impressed, scoring 38 as the pair recorded a combined total of 81 for Brooklyn, and he credited Durant with being able to get the best out of him.
"Numbers show," Irving said. "When we're out there it doesn't necessarily feel like that because he makes it look so easy or he gets it in a myriad of ways -- when he gets on stretches like this, you want to play well alongside of him, that's really how I feel. I want to play well alongside him."
Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone described Nikola Jokic as a "generational talent" after the Serbian produced numbers only previously seen from the great Wilt Chamberlain.
Jokic's performance in the 119-115 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday saw him score 40 points and make 27 rebounds, as well as recording 10 assists.
It was his fifth triple-double of the season and 81st of his career, and Malone reserved high praise for the back-to-back league MVP.
"I didn't know it was a 40-27-10 night but I knew he was having another Nikola Jokic stellar performance, efficient,'' he said. "And it's not just about Nikola. It's about his ability to make every one of his team-mates better. Yeah, Nikola is a generational talent.''
LaMelo Ball, who recently returned from injury, scored 31 for the Hornets but could not stop them from losing an eighth consecutive game, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (20 points), Aaron Gordon (19 points) and Bruce Brown (16 points) helped Jokic lead the charge for the Nuggets.
Despite his incredible showing, Jokic was able to show humility after the game and credited his team-mates for allowing him the chance to put up such numbers.
"To be honest, I think it's because of our defense and I was just in the right spot to rebound the ball,'' Jokic said of making a career-high 27 rebounds. "It's not that I was grabbing for them or whatever, chasing for them. It just happened, you know? I wish it could be every night, to be honest.''
Reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic became just the third player in NBA history with 40 points, 25 rebounds and 10 assists in a game in the Denver Nuggets' 119-115 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.
Jokic finished with 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists for his 81st career triple-double, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor as the only players to achieve the aforementioned stat line.
The Serbian is the first player to reach that mark since Chamberlain in 1968. Chamberlain managed that milestone four times in his decorated career.
The Nuggets center pulled down 20 rebounds before half-time in a dominant display in the paint, leading Denver to an 18-11 overall record. Jokic's 27 rebounds were a career-high, and it was his fifth triple-double of the season.
Jokic received strong support from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 20 points, four rebounds and five assists while Jamal Murray dished off 11 assists. Aaron Gordon chipped in with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hornets fall to a 7-23 record, with LaMelo Ball scoring 31 points including four triples on 100 per cent three-point shooting in his third game back from injury.
Banchero stars as Magic topple Celtics
This season's top overall NBA Draft pick Paolo Banchero scored 31 points as the Orlando Magic claimed their sixth straight win and toppled the Boston Celtics 95-92.
Banchero produced his third 30-point game, shooting six-of-seven from beyond the arc, while Admiral Schofield contributed 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter.
The win means the Magic completed a sweep of consecutive games in Bolton and extended their win streak to their longest since March 2019.
KD leads Nets rally for sixth straight win
Kevin Durant scored 26 of his 43 points in the third quarter to carry a 17-point comeback for the Brooklyn Nets in a 124-121 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Kyrie Irving added 38 points as the Nets secured their sixth straight win.
The Minnesota Timberwolves broke their franchise single-game scoring record in a 150-126 rout over the Chicago Bulls led by Anthony Edwards' season-high 37 points and 11 assists.
The Golden State Warriors won for the first time this season without the injured Stephen Curry (shoulder), with Jordan Poole scoring a career-high 43 points in a 126-110 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
The Los Angeles Lakers will have to stay afloat without franchise centrepiece Anthony Davis for at least the next few weeks after scans revealed a foot injury that will keep him out indefinitely.
Davis, 28, has been plagued by injuries in recent years, but was enjoying arguably the best season of his career prior to Friday's win against the Denver Nuggets.
Averaging 27.4 points and a career-high 12.1 rebounds per game while playing in 25 of the Lakers' 28 fixtures up to this point, Davis had seemingly rediscovered his best form after only playing a combined 76 games in the past two seasons.
But against the Nuggets, Davis ended up hopping off the floor after a lay-up attempt, briefly returning in the second quarter before sitting out the entire second half.
While the Lakers were hopeful it would only be a minor injury, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Sunday it will likely cost the eight-time All-Star "at least one month" and that the "Lakers are bracing for an indefinite absence".
With Davis out of the line-up, it remains to be seen if Russell Westbrook returns to the starting group or remains as the designated sixth-man, while backup center Thomas Bryant will undoubtedly see his role expand after impressing with 21 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes after Davis' injury.
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