The Utah Jazz extended its recent dominance of the Detroit Pistons with a 99-82 win in the NBA on Saturday, making it eight straight wins over the Eastern Conference side.
Mehmet Okur scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half to set up the win that saw Utah edge within 2-1/2 wins of Northwest Division leader Denver.
Detroit last beat Utah in early 2005.
Rockets 96, Knicks 76
In Houston, a strong team effort compensated for the absence of injured stars as Houston comfortably beat struggling New York.
The Rockets had five players with at least 14 points, making up for the absence of Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest and moving within 2 games of Southwest Division leader San Antonio.Trail Blazers 113, Warriors 100
In Portland, Oregon, Portland inflicted a fifth straight defeat on lowly Golden State.
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LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points to top the Portland scorers while Brandon Roy added 19 in his return from a hamstring injury.
Timberwolves 106, Bucks 104
In Minneapolis, Minnesota rallied from 13 points down in the second half for a thrilling win over Milwaukee.
Randy Foye scored 10 of his 11 points in the fourth quarter to guide the Timberwolves, who have won five in a row for the first time since 2005.
Thunder 109, Bulls 98, OT
In Chicago, Kevin Durant scored 28 points to lead Oklahoma City over Chicago, notching just its sixth win of the season.
Nick Collison added a season-high 21 for the Thunder, who trailed by seven midway through the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma City had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but Durant missed a jumper from the top of the key and the tip-in attempt also missed.
Bobcats 92, Wizards 89
In Washington, Charlotte trailed for most of the game before overcoming Washington.
Raja Bell had 19 points for the Bobcats, and Boris Diaw scored eight of his 18 points in the decisive fourth quarter.
The Bobcats took the lead with 2:42 left and held on.
