Derek Fisher earned the LA Lakers a slice of redemption with his three-pointer seconds from time downing the Dallas Mavericks 73-70.
Fisher has a knack of scoring from outside the paint at crucial times, having beaten the San Antonio Spurs in the 2004 playoffs with less than a second remaining.
And it was his three, the only one the Lakers made from 10 attempts all game, that consigned champions Dallas to a loss against the side they whitewashed 4-0 in the playoff semis last season.
Kobe Bryant finished with just 14 points for the Lakers, while Andrew Bynum had 17 to go along with his 15 rebounds.
MVP Dirk Nowitzki top-scored for Dallas with 21 points but the Mavericks struggled to find their range all game, shooting at just 35 percent.
The Chicago Bulls fell at home to the Memphis Grizzlies without star Derrick Rose.
The Bulls were flat from the outset and put in a poor defensive display against a Grizzlies side they disposed of by 40 points in their home opener on New Year's Day.
Rudy Gay finished with a game-high 24 points for Memphis in the 102-86 win while Mike Conley shot 20 points and a fired-up Marreese Speights pitched in with a 16-point game to go with a career-high 12 rebounds.
In the absence of Rose, who was missing his second game of the season due to a sprained toe, Luol Deng top scored with 20 points.
The Philadelphia 76ers maintained their unbeaten stand at home this season with a 94-82 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The 76ers broke the game open with 29 points to 19 in the third quarter and were led by Jrue Holiday (24 points) and Andre Iguodala (21) as they posted their ninth win in 10 games.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook proved too much for the stumbling Boston Celtics to handle as they went down to the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-88.
Durant had 28 and Westbrook 26 points as the Thunder notched a seventh consecutive win to improve to 12-2. Meanwhile, the Celtics' slump continues with a fifth straight loss as they fall to 4-8.
The LA Clippers backed up their win over the Lakers with a 109-91 victory over the New Jersey Nets.
Blake Griffin had a double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds as the Clippers showed no sign of a struggle without the hamstrung Chris Paul.
The Cleveland Cavaliers turned around a one-point deficit with less than two minutes to play to outlast the Charlotte Bobcats 102-94.
Kyrie Erving had 25 points while Anderson Varejao added 14 points and 12 rebounds, including a key pair of late baskets as the Cavs piled on the last nine points.
Josh Smith starred for the Atlanta Hawks with 28 points and a season-high 15 rebounds as they defeated the Toronto Raptors 93-84.
The Houston Rockets broke away in the third quarter to beat the Washington Wizards 114-106 with Kevin Martin top-scoring for the Rockets with 25 points.
Ryan Anderson sunk seven three-pointers on his way to a career-high 30 points as the Orlando Magic clipped the New York Knicks 102-93.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points for the Portland Trail Blazers as they snapped a three-game losing streak with an 84-77 success over the New Orleans Hornets.
The Minnesota Timberwolves downed fellow strugglers the Sacramento Kings 99-86 in Minneapolis with Kevin Love leading the line with 33 points and 11 rebounds.