Raptors thrash Hawks, Karl leads Kings to first-up victory
The Toronto Raptors made ground on Eastern Conference leaders the Atlanta Hawks, while new Sacramento Kings coach George Karl was a winner.
The Toronto Raptors won the battle of the Eastern Conference's top two, thrashing the Atlanta Hawks 105-80 while the Phoenix Suns were upset by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Lou Williams drained seven threes on his way to a 26-point haul for the Raptors, including two buckets from range in Toronto's 28-13 third quarter at the Philips Arena in Atlanta.
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DeMar DeRozan had 21 points and eight rebounds, while Kyle Lowry (10 points, nine assists) narrowly missed a double-double.
Andrew Wiggins' late lay-up helped the Timberwolves seal a 111-109 victory over the Suns, and saw him to 20 points - reaching that mark for the 17th time this season.
Minnesota remain rooted to the foot of the Western Conference, their 12th win of the season seeing them move within one game of the second-bottom Los Angeles Lakers.
The Suns' loss leaves them half-a-game behind the eighth-placed Oklahoma City Thunder in the West.
The Golden State Warriors increased their buffer atop the West's standings to four games, and made it three in a row with a comfortable 110-99 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Stephen Curry (25 points, 11 assists) and Klay Thompson (20 points) were dominant, leading the Warriors to a 42-9 record.
The Spurs sit seventh in the conference, but five games clear of the Thunder.
The Cleveland Cavaliers handed the Washington Wizards their worst loss of the season, thrashing them 127-89 - with LeBron James' 25-minute cameo producing 28 points.
The Cavs' lead ballooned to 40 points at one stage, with Kyrie Irving (25 points) also influential for the winners.
Cleveland climbed above Washington into fourth in the Eastern Conference standings with the comprehensive victory.
George Karl's first game in charge of the Sacramento Kings saw them come from 15 points down to beat the Boston Celtics 109-101.
DeMarcus Cousins (31 points, 15 rebounds) and Rudy Gay (28 points) helped the Kings to just their 19th win of the season.
The Lakers lost for the seventh straight time, going down to the Brooklyn Nets 114-105, the Miami Heat inflicted a sixth straight defeat on the hapless New York Knicks 111-87, the Detroit Pistons were 100-91 victors over the Chicago Bulls and the Orlando Magic made it rare back-to-back wins when they toppled the New Orleans Pelicans 95-84.
The Indiana Pacers trounced the Philadelphia 76ers 106-95, the Utah Jazz were 92-76 winners at home to the Portland Trail Blazers, the Milwaukee Bucks downed the Denver Nuggets 89-81 and the Dallas Mavericks outgunned the West's fourth-placed Houston Rockets 111-100.
