The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks picked up from where they left off as the NBA resumed following the All-Star break on Thursday.
Both claimed their seventh straight win, with Luka Doncic scoring 41 points and Kyrie Irving 29 as the Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns 123-113 at home.
Derrick White scored 28 points and Jayson Tatum 25 as the Celtics won 129-112 at the Chicago Bulls.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors beat the Los Angeles Lakers 128-110.
League-leading Boston trailed by three points at half-time before taking control in the third quarter to improve to a 44-12 record.
The Mavericks also trailed by three at half-time but opened the third quarter on a 16-0 run and did not trail again.
Dallas now have a 33-23 record, level with Phoenix, for whom Devin Booker scored 35 points and Kevin Durant 23.
“It’s always tough to come back from All-Star, the first game’s always tough,” Doncic told broadcaster TNT.
“It was a very big game. We played against an amazing team, but we showed out. We’ve got to get ready for the next game and just keep going like that.”
