Charlotte: Devin Booker scored 70 points, becoming the sixth player in NBA history to reach that total, but it wasn't enough to give his side a victory as the Phoenix Suns fell 130-120 to the Boston Celtics.
Booker joined Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, David Thompson, David Robinson and Elgin Baylor as the NBA's 70-point scorers.
Baylor also held the record against the Celtics with 64 points in Minneapolis for the Lakers on November 8, 1959.
The win was Boston's third straight, and avenged their buzzer-beater loss in Phoenix earlier this month.
The rematch was dominated early by the Celtics as they hit eight three-pointers during a 37-point second quarter to grow their lead as high as 26 points.
In Charlotte, LeBron James sat at his locker dabbing his right eye with a wet compress while having difficulty keeping it open.
A battle scar from a rough night.
James will meet with an eye doctor after a physical game in which he was poked in the eye by Jeremy Lamb, but remained in the game to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a Central Division-clinching 112-105 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
James finished with 32 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds as the Cavaliers bounced back from their worst defensive outing of the season Wednesday night in a loss to the Denver Nuggets.
"If coach decides to give me a game off, it's not because I'm resting, it's because I'm banged up," James said with a hint of sarcasm referring to the grief Tyronn Lue and the Cavaliers took from the league for resting James, Irving and Love earlier this week against the Los Angeles Clippers.
James' status for Sunday's (AEDT) home game against the Washington Wizards is unclear.
"I'll be all right," James said.
Kyrie Irving added 26 points and Kevin Love had 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Cavaliers snapped Charlotte's three-game winning streak and remained atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Stephen Curry had 27 points, seven rebounds and a season-high 12 assists to help Golden State beat Sacramento.
Draymond Green added a season-best 23 points with eight assists, while Ian Clark scored 10 points to help the Warriors improve to an NBA-best 58-14. Golden State have won six straight since their season-high three-game losing streak.
Jordan Clarkson had career highs of 35 points and eight three-pointers as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves to snap a six-game skid.
Elsewhere, Boomers forward/centre Aron Baynes scored seven points in Detroit's 87-115 loss against Orlando, Houston beat New Orleans 117-107, Milwaukee beat Atlanta 100-97, Philadelphia beat Chicago 117-107, Denver beat Indiana 125-117 and Washington beat Brooklyn 129-108.
AAP