Joel Embiid dropped an enormous 38 points and had 11 rebounds as his Philadelphia 76ers finished off the Boston Celtics 122-110.

The victory saw Philadelphia move to an Eastern Conference-best 11-5, with Ben Simmons scoring 11 of his 15 points in an aggressive burst in the final quarter.

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Charlotte Hornets 123-110, while the Indiana Pacers closed out a tight 120-118 victory over the Orlando Magic, as the Houston Rockets squeezed the Detroit Pistons 103-102 and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Brooklyn Nets 125-113.

The suffocating defence of the Toronto Raptors saw them finish 101-81 against the Miami Heat, the Minnesota Timberwolves tumbled to a 116-98 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks as the San Antonio Spurs battled hard but fell 122-117 to the Dallas Mavericks.

The New York Knicks missed the chance to go even on the season as they lost 103-94 to the Sacramento Kings, while the Los Angeles Clippers went 120-106 over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets moved to 8-7 with a 130-126 victory over the Phoenix Suns after six Denver players pulled out double-figure scores.