Donovan Mitchell has scored 33 points and Evan Mobley 26 as the streaking Cleveland Cavaliers beat Denver 149-135 for their sixth straight win.
Cleveland set a season high in points on Friday night in Colorado and improved to 10-1 since dropping two in a row to Atlanta last month.
The Eastern Conference-leading Cavs led by as many as 19 to improve their NBA-best record to 27-4.
Nikola Jokic had 27 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists for his league-leading 12th triple-double of the season, and Jamal Murray also had 27 with 10 assists for the Nuggets (16-13), who have dropped two in a row.
In Boston, the second-placed Celtics snapped a two-game skid with a 142-105 rout of Indiana.
Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 44 points, including six three-pointers, and Jayson Tatum added 22 points and 13 rebounds for Boston (23-8), who connected on 23 triples and never trailed.
Jaylen Brown WENT OFF for the Celtics!
🍀 44 PTS (season-high)
🍀 5 REB
🍀 6 3PM
🍀 4 STLHe passes Paul Pierce for the 2nd-most games in BOS franchise history with 40+ PTS, 5+ REB, & 5+ 3PM! pic.twitter.com/15XzJxuivR
— NBA (@NBA) December 28, 2024
Over in the West, Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 33 points and Ja Morant had 25 before leaving with a right shoulder injury as Memphis beat New Orleans 132-124.
The Grizzlies (22-10), second in their conference behind Oklahoma City, never ruled Morant out of the game, but only returned to the bench and cheered on his team from there.
Third-placed Houston were beaten 113-112 after Anthony Edwards made a step-back three with 23 seconds left to cap a furious rally and lift Minnesota to victory.
Julius Randle had 27 points and Edwards added 24 as the Timberwolves (16-14) won their second straight after losing three in a row.
Alperen Sengun had a season-high 38 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Rockets (21-10), who had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Better news for the conference’s third and fourth-placed teams.
Kyrie Irving scored 20 points, Daniel Gafford added 16 and Dallas won their first game since star Luka Doncic (calf) was injured, beating the Suns 98-89 in Phoenix.
Kevin Durant compiled 35 points for the home side, who have lost four of their past five games, but the Mavericks (20-11) never trailed and led by as many as 18.
Elsewhere, the Clippers beat Golden State in Los Angeles but there were away wins for New York and San Antonio.