LA Lakers edge out Houston Rockets despite 51 points from James Harden
The five-time All Star also added nine assists in a losing performance
James Harden scored 51 points for the Houston Rockets but his side saw their winning streak of 14 games brought to an end by the LA Lakers.
The five-time All Star added nine assists, but the Rockets could not pull back the Lakers who had 38 points from rookie Kyle Kuzma.
Finishing 122-116, the game was the first loss for Houston since November 14 when they went down to the Toronto Raptors.
Kyrie Irving missed with a jump shot in the dying seconds as the Boston Celtics fell just short against the Miami Heat in a 90-89 loss.
Irving, who had 33 points on the night, saw his effort come off the rim as the Heat hung on for the win to go 15-15 for the season.
The Raptors hit 63 points in the first half in an emphatic win against the Charlotte Hornets.
DeMar DeRozan had 28 points and eight assists in the 129-111 win.
The Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks 105-95, the Sacramento Kings saw off the Brooklyn Nets 104-99 and the Chicago Bulls defeated the Orlando Magic 112-94.
Elsewhere, Russell Westbrook had 25 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Utah Jazz 107-79, with the Jazz only scoring nine in the first quarter.
The Dallas Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 110-93, while the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets 112-104, despite 30 points from Jamal Murray.
The San Antonio Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers 93-91, the LA Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 108-95 and Klay Thompson hit 29 points as the Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 97-84.
