The Los Angeles Lakers marked the halfway point of the NBA season with a 96-91 victory over defending champions the Dallas Mavericks.
Pau Gasol led the way for the Lakers with 24 points, but it was Andrew Bynum (19 points, 14 rebounds) who steered his side to victory late in the contest.
Bynum, fouled after gathering a rebound with five minutes and 29 seconds left in the final quarter, landed two free throws to break open an 82-82 tie and put the Lakers in front for good.
Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher weighed in with 15 points apiece for the Lakers, while Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and 12 rebounds in a losing cause for the Mavericks.
Elsewhere, Joakim Noah's rare triple-double of 13 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists helped the Chicago Bulls to a 110-91 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Carlos Boozer top-scored with 20 points, while Luol Deng and Derrick Rose added 16 apiece as the Bulls remained top of the Central Division.
Jeremy Lin and Carmelo Anthony won for the first time together as starters, with the New York Knicks overcoming the Atlanta Hawks 99-82.
Lin, who had 17 points and nine assists, was rested for most of the fourth quarter, while Anthony notched 15 points.
Bumper hauls from Russell Westbrook (31 points) and Kevin Durant (28 points) helped the Oklahoma City Thunder notch 72 points in the first half alone, on their way to a 119-104 win over the Boston Celtics.
Orlando Magic eased past the New Jersey Nets 108-91 thanks to Dwight Howard's 20 points and 17 rebounds.
The Toronto Raptors won for the first time in five matches, beating the Detroit Pistons 103-93.
The Sacramento Kings ended their losing streak at six matches thanks to a 115-107 victory over the Washington Wizards.
The Indiana Pacers trailed after the first quarter of their match away to the Charlotte Bobcats, but Tyler Hansbrough came off the bench to score a game-high 22 points and provide nine rebounds in a 102-88 win for the visitors.
The Minnesota Timberwolves came from 16 points down with nine minutes remaining to edge the Utah Jazz 100-98.
In another thriller, Monta Ellis landed a 20-foot jumper with one second remaining to see the Golden State Warriors beat the Phoenix Suns 106-104.
The New Orleans Hornets were never behind as they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 89-84, and the Houston Rockets snuck past the Philadelphia 76ers 93-87.
And Chris Paul's season-high 36 points, together with 27 from Blake Griffin, fired the Los Angeles Clippers to a 103-95 win over the Denver Nuggets.