Chris Paul returned from injury, but it was James Harden's 40 points that fueled the Houston Rockets' 103-98 come-from-behind victory over the Orlando Magic in the NBA on Sunday.
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Harden extended his streak of games with at least 30 points to 23. He chipped in 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots -- including one in the last 30 seconds to help the Rockets seal the win.
Paul, who missed 17 games with a left hamstring injury, finished with 12 points, six assists and five steals.
Houston trailed by as many as 15 in the third quarter, never taking the lead until there were less than five minutes remaining.
Harden keyed their rally, scoring seven straight Rockets points in the final 2:12 of the contest starting with a basket that put Houston up 95-93.
Paul George led the way in Oklahoma City, scored 36 points and pulling down 13 rebounds in the Thunder's 118-112 victory over the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks.
Russell Westbrook notched his 16th triple-double of the season with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, and the Thunder put the brakes on Milwaukee's Most Valuable Player candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo to post a fifth straight win.
Oklahoma City led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter.
Milwaukee closed to within three with 1:09 left in the game, but George answered Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe's three-pointer with his own from beyond the arc to push the Thunder's lead back to 113-107 and contributed two of the free throws that Oklahoma City used to seal the game.
Antetokounmpo finished with 27 points and 18 rebounds and Khris Middleton added 22 points for the Bucks, who saw their six-game winning streak end.
In Dallas, Toronto star Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points and the Raptors withstood a triple-double from Dallas rookie Luka Doncic in a 123-120 victory over the Mavericks.
Pascal Siakam converted a three-point play with 3:56 remaining to break a 108-108 tie as the Raptors erased a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Danny Green stretched Toronto's lead to 116-112 with 1:34 to play, and after Dallas' Harrison Barnes missed a pair of free throws Leonard scored on a driving layup.
Mavs prodigy Doncic, 19, scored 35 points with 12 rebounds and 10 assists to become the first to post two triple-doubles in the NBA while still a teenager.
However, it wasn't enough to prevent Toronto from improving to 37-15 to pull into a virtual tie atop the East with the 35-13 Bucks.
Cavs snap skid
Elsewhere, the NBA-worst Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a six-game skid with a 104-101 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
The game came down to the final possession, with Bulls guard Zach LaVine's three-point attempt over Cedi Osman bouncing off the rim at the buzzer.
The Cavs limited the Bulls to one basket from the field in the final 3:50 as they clung on for the win.
In New York, the Miami Heat climbed back to .500 with a 106-97 victory over the Knicks.
Miami guard Wayne Ellington scored all 19 of his points in the second half, including a pair of three pointers that pushed the Heat's lead to 100-92 with 1:08 remaining.
Veteran Dwyane Wade added 15 points off the bench for Miami in his penultimate appearance at Madison Square Garden before he retires at the end of the season.
Davis seeks trade from Pelicans to NBA contender - reports
New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis has asked to be traded to an NBA contender before the league's February 7 transfer deadline, according to multiple reports Monday.
The 25-year-old from Chicago, a five-time All-Star forward and member of the 2012 London Olympic gold medal squad, won't sign a contract extension, his agent Rich Paul told ESPN Monday.
"Anthony wants to be traded to a team that allows him a chance to win consistently and compete for a championship," Paul said. "Anthony wanted to be honest and clear with his intentions and that's the reason for informing them of this decision now. That's in the best interests of both Anthony's and the organization's future."
Davis, the top pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, shares second in the NBA with 29.3 points a game and third in the league with 13.3 rebounds per contest. He also has 4.4 assists, 2.6 blocked shots and 1.7 steals a game this season for New Orleans.
At 22-28 with seven losses in their past eight games, the Pelicans are 13th of 15 clubs in the Western Conference, six games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth and final playoff berth.
Davis, out since January 19 with a sprained left index finger but due back this week, could become a free agent in 2020 and sign a five-year contract extension worth $240 million after this season.
The New York Times reported that Paul has not given the Pelicans any preference as to which team he wants to join. Paul said the decision was made "to let them know by the deadline so they could do what's best for the organization going forward."
New Orleans has stressed no intentions of dealing Davis but confronted by a vow not to re-sign, the Pelicans are unlikely to want to risk losing him for nothing in return if he plays out his contract and leaves next year.
The Pelicans have missed the playoffs in four of six seasons since drafting Davis, but swept Portland in the first round of last season's playoffs for their first postseason series triumph since 2008. New Orleans fell in the second round to eventual champion Golden State.
Two teams expected to be interested in Davis are the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, whose superstar LeBron James is also represented by Paul.