The New York-Atlanta and Denver-Houston games were featured bouts, while the game between NBA doormats Dallas and Minnesota was like matching a pair of aging tankers on the undercard.
But, as far as the record book is concerned, the 93-89 victory by the Dallas Mavericks over Minnesota's Timberwolves on Thursday night was perhaps the most significant event on a busy schedule.The win at Minnesota's Target Center snapped the Mavericks' NBA record-tying 20-game losing streak and raised their season record to 2-23, with the only other victory coming - you guessed it - against the hapless Timberwolves at the Target Center.
"If we could play and work hard and play Minnesota every night, we'd get a lot of victories," rookie Jamal Mashburn said with a laugh. "But we can't play them every night."
The Mavericks avoided breaking the single-season record they share with the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost 20 straight in 1972-73. The league record for consecutive losses, 24, was set over two seasons by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1981-82 and 1982-83.
Jim Jackson led Dallas with 28 points.
Knicks 84, Hawks 75
New York, behind the fourth-quarter shooting of Patrick Ewing and Hubert Davis, survived an eight-point third period and snapped Atlanta's seven-game road winning streak.
Nuggets 106, Rockets 93
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf scored 24 points and Reggie Williams 23 for Denver, which ended a nine-game road losing streak and kept Houston from matching the best ever one-loss start in NBA history.
Cavaliers 107, Bucks 88
Gerald Wilkins scored 20 points as Cleveland gained its third straight lopsided victory, winning by an average of 21 points against the Bucks, Utah and the Los Angeles Lakers after losing five in a row.
Heat 109, Lakers 92
Steve Smith scored 23 points and Glen Rice 21 to lead Miami to its fourth straight victory. Los Angeles was led by Nick Van Exel's 16 points.
Bulls 81, Pistons 72
Scottie Pippen had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to pace the streaking Bulls to their eighth straight victory.
Chicago, which has won 12 of 13, handed Detroit its 12th loss in 15 games as the Pistons had a season-low 72 points and a season-high 21 turnovers.
Hornets 118, Celtics 100
Dell Curry scored 12 of his 20 points in the final quarter, including eight during a decisive 12-0 run that paced Charlotte. Alonzo Mourning finished with 30 points and 18 rebounds as the Hornets outscored the Celtics 38-17 in the fourth quarter. Kevin Gamble led the Celtics with 22 points.
Magic 122, Nets 112
Orlando's Anfernee Hardaway scored a career-high 31 points to back a 34-point, 15-rebound performance by Shaquille O'Neal. Hardaway scored 17 first-quarter points and O'Neal had 24 after halftime, including two baskets during a 10-2 spurt that enabled the Magic to regain control after squandering most of a 23-point lead.
Suns 87, SuperSonics 86
Dan Majerle's 3-pointer with seven seconds left handed the SuperSonics their first home loss in 13 games this season.
Majerle led the Suns with 27 points, hitting seven of 11 3-point attempts, and chipped in with 10 rebounds. Charles Barkley added 18 points and 18 rebounds.
Warriors 141, Clippers 95
Billy Owens scored 26 points, 20 in the third quarter, and six Golden State players reached double figures. Golden State, breaking a two-game losing streak, raced to a 68-49 halftime lead, outscored the Clippers 37-15 in the third period and coasted to victory.
Kings 114, Bullets 88
Mitch Richmond scored 13 of his 22 points in the third quarter as the Sacramento Kings ended an eight-game home losing streak. Sacramento, which had equaled a franchise record home losing streak, won for the first time at home since upsetting Chicago on Nov. 21.
Trail Blazers 108, Pacers 96
Rookie guard James Robinson scored a career-high 19 points to help Portland to its fourth consecutive win. Rod Strickland, starting in place of injured guard Clyde Drexler, led the Trail Blazers with 22 points. Reggie Miller had 22 for the Pacers.